The Future Warrior's Fable
by Hazuzu
Summary: The story of Yarro, a Saiyan from Universe 6 who was recruited to the Time Patrol following an encounter with Time Breaker technology. This story coincides with the events of Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2, but focuses on the character's time spent between missions. Connects with The Time Patroller's Tale.
1. Chapter 1: A Second to Breathe

Zombo groaned as he woke up from his nap on the cold crystal floor of Kerrosite IV. His lanky, ivory limbs scrambled on the floor until his twined tendril fingers found purchase and he managed to pull his sloping form into a somewhat stable position.

"Let's see..." Zombo glanced between his wrists. On one was a bright metal bracer with two large buttons facing him, one flashing green, the other sitting at a dull red. There was a clear orb mounted on it, and inside that, a green ring that swirled eternally in place. On his other was a dull, scratched-up device with a single large screen and a keypad beside it.

He pushed a few buttons on the latter and the screen lit up with the image of a five-strong group of Saiyans. "Just five..." He chuckled to himself. They were close, standing on one of the many crystalline satellites that orbited Kerrosite IV. The nebula shielded him from view, but he knew all too well that they'd be able to sense him soon enough – that's why he'd timed his nap.

His eyes flicked to a large, vibrating device embedded into the floor. It made a beeping noise, then shot out a perfect purple sphere. He rushed over, grabbed it, and hit the flashing green button on his wrist.

* * *

"We will return for his body before long." Yarro's steady voice assured the four Saiyans that walked around her. Their eyes were scanning their surroundings while they adjusted to the micro-gravity of the satellite beneath their feet. "This villain has showed us one of his cards, and so we know he must be here."

"And that means we'll get to drag him home in chains." Mizna nodded, as he hopped off of the asteroid and towards one of the many orbs that filled the crystalline sea. "I don't know how the bastard knew Kewka would hop through that valley, much less time his energy wave so long beforehand, but you know what he's not too clever for? The Yarro Sq-" His feet touched the orb.

It exploded, sending shards of shrapnel and energy tearing through his body. He whimpered as he floated in space, barely alive, barely for a few moments longer. "Y-Yarro." He held out his hand to the woman, who floated over and took it in hers. "M...make sure...w-we win." Golden energy sparked between their hands, and he was dead.

Zombo laughed at his screen and hurriedly wiped off his saliva.

* * *

A third Saiyan was dead, and Zombo thought that he'd done rather well with that one. The delayed energy blast had been a stroke of genius, if he said so himself, and an excellent way to take down the first of them. The second, the inconspicuous bomb placed just right, had been just as clever, but they'd seemed to stop thinking that prancing around was an acceptable way to challenge him. So, he'd had to get even more cleverer.

And the simplest way to keep them off guard? Make even the safe floors dangerous. A couple of resets, a handful of well-placed cracks, and the last of them had been caught up in a wave of molten carbon that just about fried their brain on hit! The goodbyes never got any funnier, at least to Zombo.

But, he hadn't quite figured out how to take out another when the remaining three landed on Kerrosite IV and charged at him. They were faster, of course, the female with the tied-up hair apparently the fastest, but she'd only got halfway across the asteroid by the time he'd hit the button.

* * *

The problem with being a persecuted genius was that they tended to send competent people after him. That was obviously why he'd been caught so many times before, but with his gift, he got to be as clever as he wanted without anybody to tell him different. He had all the time in the world to be smart, and he decided to make good use of it, by taking advantage of the uncontrollable factor known as luck.

Or, uncontrollable to anybody but Zombo. A few drones, every time, and he'd watch the ensuing fight every time. Three Saiyans, more robots. A slight adjustment to their flight pattern, the replacement of a motor or two, and soon enough...he had it. Another one of the girls, dashing at just the right moment as Yarro sent out a beam of emerald energy, just powerful enough to tear through the drones...and the girl's ribs.

Another one defeated! Zombo couldn't help but holler at his own predictive ability, the fear that must have been running through their minds. But, they pushed on. The deaths of their comrades seemed to make them that much more motivated – judging by how the stone-faced female almost reached him on this iteration. But, she couldn't outrun time.

* * *

The second-to-last Saiyan was proving especially difficult. He was too tough for the drones, too aware for friendly fire, and too wily to step on anything that had even a slight chance of exploding. Zombo rattled his brain over and over again, until he realized something – a cut this Saiyan had received in the last drone battle, treated with some medigel. That was the key.

Zombo just had to be quick about it, in one of the mourning sessions, have one of his drones slip by and swap the medigel for a poison he'd printed. It was marvelous, he thought, as he watched the second-in-command be unable to punch or dodge his way out of a slow death. There he was, on the screen, growing more and more weary, until his legs could barely keep him up.

And then he'd died, with the same sad scene Zombo had seen a thousand – at least a thousand – times before. A sad farewell, a promise to defeat him, holding hands...frankly, he was sick of it, but this last one? She wouldn't get a mourning. There'd be nobody to do it for her!

* * *

Yarro flexed her fingers as she finally pinpointed Zombo's location. The deaths of her allies, her friends, had left her body rife with fury. But, she could control it. She knew she could. For the sake of all of the people who'd just suffered, for all of those who'd suffered at Zombo's hands, she was going to remain...calm wasn't the right word. Perhaps tranquil suited her better.

She soared towards Zombo. He was already laughing as she appeared on Kerrosite IV. He stopped in the fraction of a second it took for her to dart across the room, wrap her hand around his throat, and heft him overhead. He flailed his limbs around, apparently attempting to grab at the device on his left wrist. But golden sparks were already coming from where her fingers dug into his blubber-like throat.

"Hello, Zombo." Yarro's voice remained level as she met his eyes, and his limbs started to become limp. "My name is Yarro. The Heroes of Justice are here, and you are under arrest for crimes against galactic peace. I suggest you stop struggling, because my friends are dead and all that separates you from them is my mercy."

"H-How..." Zombo wheezed, as he ceased what little resistance his gangly body was putting up. "Y-You were...not this fast..."

"When I arrived? No." Yarro finished for the croaking creature. "You are not the only one capable of genius, Zombo. You may know where my friends would stand, how they would fight, but you seem to lack creativity. I'll spare you the details, but I've been perfecting a technique to drain power. I'd planned to use it on villains like you, but me and my comrades had a pact. If they were to die before me, they would lend me their power."

"Wh-What…!" Zombo's mind flashed back to the golden sparks that had came as Yarro mourned her allies, and had just came to be as she gripped his throat.

"The Yarro Squad is dead." Yarro was as still as a statue as she spoke, with Zombo held overhead while she floated in what was once his center of operations. But even as she said the words, Zombo could feel his bones tremble in the wake of her rising power "Long live The Yarro Squad."

"P-Please..." Zombo breathed. "Don't...kill me..."

"I won't." Yarro said. "There are things I need to figure out. You don't have the resources here for manufacturing the weapons you brought against us. A single industrial printer would take weeks to print that many drones, days for bombs like the ones you used, and resources to go with them. You could not have known we would come here, approach how we did, and pick us off with tools you did not know you would need."

"Please..."

"So there is something else going on here. When I walked into this room, you reached for this device on your left arm. I don't recognize it." She pulled her eyes down to the device that hanged on Zombo's limp arm. "It's obviously not the same technology as you're used to. You use cheap, industrial tools, but this looks new. It has something to do with ki, which you don't have much of." A single golden spark fell to the ground, and Zombo briefly faded from consciousness.

"So, it's a tool. And this ki is…inside the device. This ring?" She paused as her mind flicked through options. "It's not a bomb. It's not a weapon. A very simple interface..." She let her eyes go back to Zombo's blinking black ones. "Somebody gave this to you. Something powerful enough to turn a criminal with a low manner of cunning into a threat enough to kill my squad."

"It's...it's..." Zombo strangled. "Promise me you'll let me live."

"No."

"Please...it...it resets time." Zombo explained. "Like an alarm. I set it, with the green one, and press the green one to go back. The red one stops where you've set the alarm. Please..."

Yarro considered this, how this ability might have helped Zombo overcome her squad, and nodded slowly. "And your state is continuous despite the reset. Else you would lose your knowledge."

"Y-Yes..." Zombo wheezed.

Yarro nodded and planted her other hand on Zombo's chest. Gold rings formed tightly around all of his limbs, holding them place while he fell paralyzed to the ground. She knelt beside him and pushed two fingers against the flashing green button.

* * *

Yarro was standing beside The Yarro Squad, having just approached the vicinity of Kerrosite IV. She smiled as she looked over her squad, who noticed her smiling and smiled back. It was at that point that their eyes suddenly widened.

"Whoa, Yarro." Mizna said. "What just happened to your power level?" He asked, his eyes snapping to the other members of the squad to see if they could sense what he was sensing. "That's...that can't be right, right?" He asked.

"It is." Yarro said. Despite her most concentrated efforts, she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "Follow me. I know where Zombo is." She said, and, without another word, flew straight to Kerrosite IV. Her squad arrived a few seconds after, to find Zombo tied up in golden rings on the ground, asleep. She was waiting for them to say something when she realized that Zombo was no longer breathing, her allies were frozen in place, and she couldn't hear anything. Then she sensed new people in the area.

"You know, we don't get many recruits like this." Said a young man in a long black coat, an easy smile on his lips. Behind him was a short pink woman, in unusual clothes, bending over to pluck the green ring out of Zombo's device. "Normally, we're the first ones on the scene – especially when it comes to artifacts like the Time Rings. I'm surprised you managed to solve it by yourself. Surprised and happy." He laughed. "Anyway, uh. Would you like to join us?"

Yarro's eyebrow quirked. "Who are you?"

"Well..."


	2. Chapter 2: A Relaxing Spar

"Get over here." Mizna said to Yarro, as they stood in the bay of the Heroes of Justice Outpost 227. There were four other people there, all with the soon-to-be distinction of being members of The Yarro Squad. Yarro stepped promptly up to the Saiyan boy and accepted the hug, with a simple pat on the man's muscular back. He went to noogie her neatly tied-up hair, and found that she was suddenly standing beside her pod. "You can't go without your nugs!"

"I think I'll manage." Yarro said, as she looked over the rest of the team who'd already said their farewells. "I understand that you'll struggle to adapt in my absence, but I have confidence you'll succeed regardless." She folded her hands behind her back. "Remember that discretion is the key to being a successful Hero of Justice. And remember my techniques – you'd all be dead without them." She said, without any hint of ego.

"We know." A wide smile covered Loroko's face. "That's why we put up with you."

"And temper the storm of familial wrath" Lagos added, his voice booming from overhead the rest of the group.

"...what?" Purslane peered up at the taller man.

"Angry parents, dear." Banzo clarified for him, her hand patting the boy's shoulder. "If we could all stop being so hot and cold with our departing leader..." She batted her eyelashes at Yarro. "We appreciate all you've done for us. Will you perhaps come visit when you're not busy with Super Secret Missions?"

"I'll try." Yarro nodded.

"Oh Yarro, won't you come join me?" Mizna imitated, in a husky feminine voice. "'Tis ever so lonely in my pod. Perhaps you could show me one of your new techniques?"

"What's funny about that?" Purslane asked, his brow furrowing as Loroko tittered. "Leader Yarro's techniques are really good." Loroko laughed harder.

"He's a very immature warrior." Banzo assured the youngest member of the group, and looked to Lagos, who smacked Mizna on the back of the head. The Saiyan faceplanted into the floor.

"What a shame." Yarro said, as she looked at the wincing man. "I've not even left and my squad is already falling into misfortune." She pushed the button nearby and the door of her pod opened. "Lagos, take good care of them." She asked of the tallest member, who nodded firmly. "The rest of you...farewell." She said, as she flew up into the pod and settled into the seat.

The squad saluted her as the doors closed, the metal doors above the bay opened, and her pod shot off into the sky. The Lagos Squad watched her pod soar into the sky. She was inside for only a moment, before she disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"You all sensed her energy disappear too, right?" Mizna asked the rest of the group.

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"Unequivocally."

* * *

Yarro found herself standing in the middle of a garden, beside the young man who'd appeared to her just as suddenly before. The experience of teleportation through time wasn't an unpleasant one, she thought, as she turned to face the pink-haired boy properly.

"Hey. How'd it go?" Trunks asked.

"Well." Yarro looked up to meet his eyes. "It's a shame to be away from them, but this would seem to be where I'm meant to be. And they are still with me, in a sense."

"Yeah...please don't go spreading that around." Trunks told the younger Yarro, as he peered over his shoulder. "Your power absorption was impressive, no doubt, but the Kais get nervous around any kind of time meddling. Even though it fixed the timeline, you having their power is technically a paradox. There isn't really a way to undo it, and the Supreme Kai is fine, but...better safe than sorry."

"...understood." Yarro nodded, afer a moment of her heart feeling like it would beat out of her chest. "I assume that means I should refrain from using that technique during Time Patrols?"

"That would be good." Trunks nodded. "It would mess with history a lot. You might be able to get away with it if there are some really aberrant timelines, but as it is, you'd better stick with what you know. And what you'll make – I'm told you're an inventor."

"Correct." Yarro nodded.

"My mom's the same." Trunks smiled faintly. "But with technology, rather than ki. Speaking of techniques, do you want to get started?"

"Let's." Yarro said, as she hopped back a few feet and Trunks did the same. They each counted down from five with their hands, eyes on the others' fingers, and raised their fists. She was the first to move, a blur of blue and white that darted towards drunks. As she did so, series of yellow rings, each with the slightest gap in them, lit up on her arm.

Trunks dodged past Yarro's lariat...and met a face full of explosive rings that had slipped off of his opponent's arm. His grunt was cut short by a punch to the small of his back, sending him staggering forwards and only just managing to dash upwards to avoid Yarro's follow-up. "Nice." He nodded in approval, as he brought his fingers into a diamond shape and shot a sphere of golden energy at Yarro.

The young woman held her hand out in front of her, a partial blue circle forming. Just as the radiant sphere hit it, the circle of blue energy surrounded it while she spun on the spot. The ball span with her, then was sent flying back at Trunks. He winced, raising both of his arms to block his own attack and nodding once the energy had harmlessly dissipating to either side of him.

Trunks spun around to face the woman who'd just blinked behind him, his fist raised, and connected with her jaw. His follow-up punch was dodged, he glanced up as she sent a ball of ki into the air, and found her palm suddenly thrust against his throat. He choked, darted back to avoid the weak ball of ki, and held his hand towards the Saiyan. It lit up blue, and a barrage of blue bullets headed towards her.

Yarro zig-zagged upwards, avoiding most of the blasts while golden energy pooled around her hands. They lit up for a moment, then disappeared just as quickly. She clenched her hands into fists and charged towards Trunks, weaving between the weakening last blasts of his assault, and throwing a telegraphed punch. The boy blocked it with his arm, then grabbed the wrist of her other when she went for his gut, and started to pull them apart.

She opened her fists, revealing two golden circles on her palms. Two crackling beams shot Trunks dead in the center of his torso, forcing him to release her palms and make himself vulnerable to the rapid punches that followed. His skull rattled, his teeth ached, and he was sent flying upwards with an uppercut. He was just about to ready himself when he sensed her moving rapidly. She was behind him for a moment, then in front of him. He sensed the bead of energy behind him, her about to strike him, and let his ki pour out.

The golden bead exploded, clashing with the shell of purple energy surrounding Trunks, and Yarro was forced backwards. Trunks capitalized on this opening by darting forward, his hand pausing just before her face. A wave of yellow ki washed over her, forcing Yarro to block the bulk of the attack with her arms. When the ki faded from view, Trunks had launched his foot up for a kick to break her guard.

Yarro ducked beneath it at just the last second, bending back to avoid the blow, then grabbed Trunks' leg and hurled him in front of her. He righted himself almost immediately, and was met with a circle of white and blue. He could sense her energy within it, circling him at rapid speeds, and rushed upwards. His ki swirled around him, forming a shell that lasted for a second before being sent down into the circle of colors.

The billowing energy seemed like it had found his mark, were it not for the blue band that sat around his just-expelled attack. It just sat beneath him, hovering there, while Yarro circled and circled, the blue band tightening while the energy got smaller and smaller until it was just the Saiyan standing there with a faint golden aura.

She launched herself upwards with a burst of speed, knocking Trunks off balance and capitalized with a punch to his torso. He was sent flying backwards, she pointed her finger, and an orb of ki shot straight at Trunks. This orb was supported by a distinct beam, in which Trunks could feel the energy of his last attack. He raised his arms just in time, but felt more and more pressure being put on them until his defense faltered and he was forced to eat the sheer concussive force.

Trunks was forced into the edge of the garden by the attack, grunting as he pulled himself to his feet and found Yarro standing before him. He was prepared to end the sparring session, by using more than a fraction of his power, but he found that he didn't need to as she held out a hand to him.

"Thanks." Trunks said, as he gratefully accepted the help and stood up. "Most Patrollers don't realize when they've won."

"I'd rather avoid being humiliated on my first day." Yarro explained.

"It seems like you've managed that." Trunks laughed. "You've got some good tricks up your sleeve. It's no wonder you had your own squad, but, you know, I think you could manage a lot more with some real training." He paused. "Not that they haven't trained you well in Universe 6, but once you see what some people have done with ki, you'll have a lot more to work with."

"Is that so?" Yarro asked, her voice impartial despite the curiosity flaring inside her head. "I look forward to it, then. The Heroes of Justice were not especially accommodating to experimentation."

"Weren't they?" Trunks asked.

Yarro shook her head. "My people tend to pass techniques along family lines. Wandering outside those lines implies a lack of pride, or else delinquency. It was my aim to prove that one could innovate and still be an upstanding part of society."

"Huh." Trunks scratched his head. "Well, you won't find any complaints about discovering new techniques here. You'll find all kinds of records, trainers, other Patrollers to spar with. What's ours is yours...except for the Time Nest. The Kais don't like people wandering around in there without permission."

"I see. What Universes are the other Time Patrollers drawn from?"

"All of them." Trunks answered. "I don't know everything about all the Universes, but if you're looking for anything in particular, you'll find somebody who...does." He frowned. "How did you know about other Universes? That's not exactly common knowledge."

"You said I'm from Universe 6, and I inferred." Yarro said. "I will be curious to see what these other Universes have to offer. Are there any other Saiyans here?"

"Oh, you bet." Trunks laughed. "I'm Half-Saiyan, but not the kind from your Universe. My partner is a Saiyan, too, but she's from Universe 7, same as me. There are quite a few of us, but my Partner's one of the few who aren't either mixed-race or from another Universe."

"Why is that?"

"The homeplanet of the Saiyans from Universe 7 was destroyed by an evil Emperor." Trunks explained, cautiously. "I wouldn't ask her about it – it's still a sore subject. Just about anyone else will be happy to tell you more, though."

"I understand." Yarro said. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Most people are more than happy to tell you about their past." Trunks said. "Let me get you through Initiation and then you can meet some of your fellow Time Patrollers."


	3. Chapter 3: Heroes of Just-Met

Yarro had spent her night going through the instructive videos and manuals that had been left in her new dome-home, as was apparently the colloquial way to refer to Conton City's housing. They'd been sufficient, though they obviously lacked the polish of those in the Heroes of Justice. She'd wondered whether this was elitist, but quickly overcame that thought when she realized, no, probably most policing forces don't have instructional videos involving the head of the organization and one of its top enforcers goofing off at a camera for two minutes.

When she woke, she went through her usual schedule. She didn't have to keep her hair tied up in the Time Patrol, but she did so anyway. It had become something of a habit of hers, and she frankly didn't like looking at her hair in its natural state. Some small part of her envied the races with straighter, floppier hair, or even no hair at all. But at least the fact that she did control it gave her an aura of competence. She'd liked to have thought so, anyway.

The uniform was interesting, to say the least. The Saiyan uniform was apparently based on that of the Saiyans from Universe 7, which itself had similarities to the armor she was used to. There were a couple of variations available, and she opted for the battlesuit that came with pants rather than tight trunks and one sock much longer than the other. Apparently, Trunks' mother had contributed to the design and felt that everyone deserved to show a little leg if they wanted to. Yarro did not want to.

She examined herself in the mirror and found that the uniform was quite nice, all told. She favored a lighter blue, perhaps something looser, but it felt fitting for her new station to have a uniform to go with it. Technically, she didn't even have to wear it for her first day, or outside of training, but she wanted to make a good impression on her new colleagues.

Her breakfast was handled by a robot, fortunately one without personality, and she ate it without much comment. It was unusual, but nothing she hadn't tried on other planets. Really, she was interested in the fact that they made robotic assistants without significant AI. She read up on it at breakfast, learning of the sordid history of the bots. The history itself wasn't sordid, but the bots had been, with cameras for eyes and being present in the early morning as their hosts moved between bed and shower and out again…

She made it out of her home bright and early, having decided to take the time to stroll through Conton City before arriving at her introductory meeting. It was quite unlike anything she'd seen before, but what really caught her eye was the massive dragon coiled around the city. She couldn't sense much of a power level from it, but it unnerved her nonetheless. She knew that it was a symbol of the Supreme Kai of Time's power – it had apparently been animated just to prove that point. And that reminded her of the tyrants she'd faced, who decorated their hats with skulls and their statues with skulls and their buildings with skulls.

Yarro centered herself as she walked along the cobbled streets of Conton City, between the other Time Patrollers who were also going about their morning routines. The Supreme Kai of Time hadn't seemed at all domineering in anything she'd read, and certainly not in the videos, and she was leading the Time Patrollers. The dragon was, perhaps, a symbol of her ego, but likely not meant as a threat to those who stepped out of line.

What followed was a great deal of wilderness, split up into several biomes that made Conton City's artificial nature incredibly obvious. Although she couldn't say that it spoke to her – she preferred the cool familiarity of the developed areas – it was nice to see how far they'd gone to accommodate the various races that filled the Time Patrol. A comfortable workforce made for skilled labor, but mostly, it was just kind.

Several times, it had been her instinct to fly up and get a better view of her surroundings, before Trunks' words flashed in her head. She'd have to wait for her flying license, which was perfectly reasonable. The further somebody got from Conton City, the more likely they were to forget how close they were, and that could lead to sparring among the less-disciplined members. In which case, a stray blast of ki could wipe out one of the chef robots and create a whole hassle for everyone else.

And speaking of a lack of discipline, Yarro was very curious about the Hero of Toki Toki City, one of the last of the Universe 7 Saiyans, and Trunks' patrol partner. Her biography had particularly interested the parallel Saiyan, at least, the public parts. Going from a member of a vicious warrior race, to the most esteemed guardian of time, was quite the leap. And she was beloved, despite the fact that a recurring comment was the fact that she was so laid-back. Or, as one particular comment put it, "It's like she puts all the effort people put into politeness into being a badass".

But, she apparently wasn't cruel, which suited Yarro. There were plenty of almost-too-casual members of the Heroes of Justice, and if Isala was as skilled as the records claimed, she could hardly complain. But what caught her eye the most was Isala's tail – an aspect of Saiyan physiology that seemed to have been lost in her own people, with its own series of complications to match. She'd read up on it, but she was mostly interested in how it might apply to fighting. If she had an extra limb, the ease with which she could create new techniques would be that much better.

Before she could get lost in thought, Yarro's scouter had beeped and let her know she was due at the training facility. She strode off and arrived with time to spare, where she found that her instructor, Old Kai, had been replaced. This was quite obvious, because he looked like a dehydrated humanoid grape, and what stood before here was a ripped, white-haired young Earthling with sunglasses, and a purple Majin in a bright red cape that seemed to billow in the nonexistent wind.

"Hello." Yarro greeted the pair with a bow of her head. "My name is Yarro. I've been recruited as a Time Patroller and was told to arrive here for my introductory course with Old Kai."

"Sorry about that, but there's been a change of plans." The Earthling said, as she waved at the much shorter woman. "Old Kai said that he didn't want to deal with any more Saiyans, so you've got us. We just went through the introductory stuff ourselves, so," She shot a finger gun at Yarro. "We're your girls. I'm Jinni, and this is Kedavra."

The purple Majin nodded seriously at Yarro and put her hands on her hips.

"It's nice to meet you." Yarro informed both of the girls. "I'm interested in what happened with Saiyans to make Old Kai uninterested in meeting me."

"Isala happened." Jinni grinned. "I saw the video of it. She heard about him being a lech and locked him in a prison power thing. After they couldn't find him for a week, the Supreme Kai of Time saw the video and had her let him out...after a couple more days."

"Oh." Yarro said, her face impassive even as her mind worked. It certainly explained why the residents of Conton City looked up to Isala, even those who wouldn't be won over solely by heroics like saving all of time. "And he dislikes Saiyans after that?"

"Well, that, and she dressed him up in a string bikini and used the Parapara Dance technique on him." Jinni laughed. "Now he's scared of her, because she said that she's going to get back at him for every time he's ever been an old pervert."

"...oh." Yarro blinked. "Does she dislike perverts?"

"No." Jinni snorted. "One of her friends, Avada? She's the perviest Majin there's ever been."

"Jinni, that rhymed." Kedavra pointed out, her voice noticeably deepened and carefully worded. "Well done."

"...thanks." Jinni blinked, then looked back at Yarro. "Majin, you know? Anyway, Avada always asks first and right to your face. She'll just pop up and ask you if she can absorb you, that's her word for groping, and she'll leave you alone if you say no. Old Kai would lech whatever, try to peek up your skirt, grope girls." She stuck her tongue out. "A real creep."

"I see." Yarro said. "I'm glad somebody had done something about it. Is there anything I should see first?" She asked, feeling that Jinni would quite happily stand there chatting all day.

"Yeah, let's go to the training grounds. Most of the other trainees are doing theory work – how to avoid paradoxes, what to do if you don't recognize something in a time distortion, that kind of thing." Jinni explained, as she stepped up beside Yarro and started to lead the way. Kedavra mimicked her action on the other side of Yarro, who suddenly felt like the filling in a sandwich. "Do you want to do some sparring when we get there? I've been working on a new technique."

"She's lying to you." Kedavra suddenly said, as they passed into a hall that would soon lead to the training grounds.

"Shut up, Kedavra!" Jinni warned in a high-pitched whisper.

"She spent last evening practicing her poses in front of a mirror. Her goal is not to create new techniques, but look better while performing them." Kedavra explained. "She is a showboater, not an artist."

"That's not true." Jinni contested, her cheeks growing darker. "Poses are a, uh, very important part of my fighting style. It helps with ki."

"That's true." Yarro confirmed, though given what she could see of Jinni's body, she was more inclined to believe the Majin's tale. One did not acquire muscles like that through regular training. "Once you've narrowed down the key elements of a technique, it's easier to refine and be more efficient with your ki."

Jinni breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "That's exactly what I was going for. Technique. Besides, it's not like all of us can reshape our bodies at will. Like some of us." She let the statement hang in the air, eyes flicking to Kedavra, who kept strolling impassively. "That's you, Kedavra. I'm talking about you."

"Jealousy is unbecoming of a Time Patroller." Kedavra declared. "And you would not love your body if you did not earn it. The ability to reshape at will would do nothing but diminish your accomplishments and rob you of your motivation."

Yarro raised an eyebrow at the Majin, then looked to Jinni. "I think she has a point. Your body is great because you've clearly put a lot of effort into it."

Jinni smiled lopsidedly. "You guys..." She laughed, then the door opened to reveal the grassy field and the stone arena that stood in the center of it. A barely-perceptible shimmer hung over the arena. "We can do whatever we want here, as long as we're not actually trying to destroy anything. You can hit me with your best shot." She said, as she flew over to the center of the arena.

"I see." Yarro said, flying over to the arena with her hands behind her back. "Will you be watching?" She asked, and Kedavra stood to the side of the arena. She nodded. "I'll warn you; I may use some tactics that you're not used to." She explained, as she held her hand out to Jinni.

"Pfft, no problem. I'm looking forward to i-" As she shook Yarro's hand, the golden circle that had been in the Saiyan's hand exploded and sent the earthling flying out of the arena.


	4. Chapter 4: The Future Warrior

"Sorry about Old Kai not showing up." Trunks told Yarro, as he strolled through Conton City beside her, each with an ice cream in hand. He'd foregone his usual coat and had tied his hair back, having just came back from a mission and not feeling like getting dressed up in heavy gear again. "You'll start getting used to Kais eventually – not many people come out of old age acting how you'd expect, and they're the oldest people around. I'll talk with him."

"Thank you." Yarro said. "Fortunately, Jinni and Kedavra were there to greet me in his stead."

"I heard about that. How did it go?"

"It went well." Yarro nodded. Then she noticed that Trunks still seemed to be waiting. "The sparring was especially interesting - I was not familiar with posing techniques, nor the kind of flexibility Majin have. I think that I had the upper hand against Jinni, but Kedavra was good at closing distance and preventing me from moving. I look forward to learning about new techniques to counter that in the future."

"That's good to hear." Trunks said, then took a lick of his ice cream. "How did you get along with your instructional videos? I know it's hard to get into them to start with, but you'll be finished before you know it."

"I finished them last night."

"...huh." Trunks smiled. "You're one of those people who like to get stuck in right away. That's always nice to see. Can you tell me what a Bootstrap Paradox is?"

"There is a man who has a time machine. He has a fondness for a particular composer, so he goes back to meet him. But, when he gets there, he finds that the composer doesn't exist. If he doesn't exist, he can't write the music that this man likes so much. So this man uses his records of the music, and gets it published, thus becoming the composer. But, if this composer didn't exist, then who wrote the music?"

Trunks smiled widely, partially due to Yarro's diligence, partially because she had to rush to get a bead of ice cream that had rolled down her cone. "You've got that part right, but how does it apply to the Time Patrol?

Yarro concentrated. "In the proper timeline, a Namekian saves an Earthling. An anomaly has made it so that the Namekian is incapable of saving the Earthling. If a Time Patroller saves the Earthling, it becomes a Bootstrap Paradox, or rather, a Casual Loop. We only know the Earthling has to be saved, because they were, and we save them, thus becoming the reason they were saved."

"And?"

"And it's an acceptable way to resolve an anomaly, but the proper course of action would be for the Time Patroller to prevent what happened to the Namekian, so that they still save the Earthling. This prevents the paradox and still allows the Earthling to be saved."

"That's-"

"-Right." The person finishing the sentence had arrived in a blur of deep red, and was standing in front of the pair with a smirk on her lips. She stood a little taller than Yarro, with defined muscles on her exposed arms. She wore baggy red gi, with a big sedge hat that cast her face in faint shadows. But what drew Yarro's eye was the furry Saitan tail wrapped around her waist. "Oh, you guys got ice cream. Sweet." She said, as her hand darted out and both people found a finger-sized gouge in their ice-cream while the Saiyan sucked her fingers.

"Hello there, Isala." Trunks said, with little more than a glance at his loss of ice cream. "I was just showing Yarro around Conton City. How was the debriefing?"

"It was good." Isala said. "SKoT was happy, so I am, too. Is your arm feeling better?" She asked, with a faint jab at Trunks right arm.

Trunks dipped just to the side and the pair laughed. "It's doing just fine. I'm just glad it wasn't torn off."

"Torn off of you?" Isala snorted. "Yeah, right. You could have beat the crap out of him any time you wanted."

"Well, yeah, but that kind of power level would drive the rest of the world crazy. We can't le-"

"Oh, you're in mentor mode. Got it." Isala bobbed her head and looked to Yarro. "Hey, I'm Isala, Trunks' partner."

"I'm...aware." Yarro nodded, having spent the last exchange just taking in the conversation between the pair. "The Hero of Toki Toki City and vanquisher of Old Kai, correct?"

"Yeah, but I don't like to brag about it." Isala shrugged. "Trunks told me that you managed to solve a time anomaly all by yourself, so you must be some kind of badass. Sorry I wasn't there to see it, but I was dealing with the jerks that gave that guy the device in the first place."

"Is that so?" Yarro's eyes flicked to her slowly-melting ice cream. "Was that Towa and Mira?" Then quickly lapped up the falling dairy, feeling less-than-elegant in the process.

"Yeah!" Isala said. "Well, she was one of their lackeys – nobody's allowed to engage the pair of them solo – but she went down all the same. The mission we just went on was a follow-up, y'know, finding out how she got her hands on a Time Ring in the first place? She's not that talkative, but we'll get what we want."

"This isn't really appropriate to be talking about with a new initiate," Trunks pointed out. "So, uh, why don't we talk about something else?"

"Okay. How's your girlfriend?" Isala asked.

"She's fine." Trunks said. "She wants to visit Conton City again soon."

"You're allowed to have contact with people outside of the Time Patrol?" Yarro sked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. It can be complicated, because this place exists outside of time, but my mother helped invent something that keeps everything chronological if you need to contact somebody. You won't accidentally call them at a time you've already called them after, for example." Trunks said.

"Remind me why she doesn't just live here?" Isala asked. "It's much nicer than some boring old Earth."

"She likes it on Earth, I like visiting her, and maybe she knows she'd have to put up with you if she lived here." Trunks explained.

"What? I'm delightful." Isala smiled lopsidedly. "Everyone likes me."

"You saved their lives, and they've all had Time Patroller training." Trunks said. "Mai's lived through war, but I don't think she's ready for somebody stealing her food, her clothes, or impromptu sparring sessions."

"She'll be fine! She lives with your fashion sense." Isala laughed.

"Hey now. Everyone says I look cool." Trunks joined in.

"Lime green with bright red and blue? Get out of here."

"You're literally wearing a farmer's hat."

"It's a sedge hat, and sedge hats are cool. You think so, right, Yarro?"

Yarro had been enjoying the banter between the pair, because it reminded her of her own squad and the silly banter they would often have. Being put on the spot so soon, and in so similar a spot as they would have put her in, felt somehow comfortable.

"I do." Yarro said. "And it would be improper not to side with a fellow Saiyan."

"Oh, come on." Trunks said. "That's just unfair. I'm half-Saiyan."

"Then I suppose I half-agree with you." Yarro said.

"You're lucky we're not arguing with his father." Isala noted. "He'd have pulled the Prince card by now."

"Hey, you can't use him against me." Trunks said.

"It's for morale purposes!" Isala said. "You have no idea how many times we've had to go back to fix anomalies involving his father. Gets beat up? Prince of all Saiyans. Doesn't get a chance to get beat up? Prince of all Saiyans. Stubs his toe? Prince of all Saiyans."

"That's...fair." Trunks admitted.

"That does sound a great deal like King Sadala." Yarro nodded. "In that he is a proud man, though I've yet to see him lose a fight."

"Just about every King is like that." Isala said. "They forget that they're made of the same stuff everyone else is, and it doesn't take long for them to start buying into their own hype. You know you've got an ass on your hands when they start making statues of themselves."

"Don't you have a holographic statue at the center of the fountain?" Yarro raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't make it." Isala shrugged. "SKoT just told me to stand still one day and bam! There's my face looming over everyone. Makes people think I'm tall, when, y'know," She gestured over her short, lithe form. "That's hard to explain to newcomers, especially Namekians. I have to fly to get eye-to-eye."

"The Time Patrollers need a good role model, and there's nobody better than you." Trunks assured Isala. "Besides, you'd actually get yelled at for stealing food if that statue weren't there."

"Ehh...okay." Isala smiled. "So, Yarro, what's next for you? Going to cap the day off with studying?"

"Indeed. I'm interested in reading more about Super Saiyans. I'm interested in learning more about it, but there's not a lot to go on." Yarro answered.

"I...wouldn't advise doing that. It's a policy of the Time Patrollers." Trunks informed Yarro, uncertainly. "There aren't a lot of public records about Super Saiyans for...well, a lot of reasons. You'll be able to read more about them when you've got more experience as a Time Patroller."

"Yeah, trust us on this." Isala said. "You don't want to find out more about it until later, anyway. I can recommend some good techniques for you to look up. There's some cool stuff, like making mirror images of yourself, growing extra limbs, oh, and Instant Transmission."

"You want her to learn Instant Transmission already?" Trunks laughed. "Wouldn't that bore her away from here?"

"Yeah, I know. It's really boring." Isala looked to Yarro. "It takes a lot of time to learn, more than most techniques, and it's not actually helpful for fighting compared to other, similar techniques, but it's really good if you want to get around quickly, and across huge distances. But, it's best saved for when you're attuned to the Time Nest and can spend a long time doing whatever."

"I...see." Yarro said. "Will either of you be helping with training directly?"

"I don't think so." Trunks said. "We have our own training to keep track of, plus our duties in the Time Patrol, but we can spare some time here and there if you really need it. Don't worry; the academy will be able to get you on your feet faster than you can imagine. Only the best."

"And speaking of going, I've gotta dash." Isala said, as she hovered a couple of inches off of the ground. "I've got another date with SKoT, and she's promised that this time she won't burn the tea. Wish me luck!"

"Goodbye. Remember to get an early night!" Trunks said.

"Farewell." Yarro nodded.

Isala did a small salute and was out of sight.

"So, what do you think of our hero?" Trunks asked, as he turned to Yarro and put his hands on his hips. "She can be a bit of a handful, but she's got a good heart and there's nobody more dedicated to the Time Patrol than her."

"She seems pleasant." Yarro said. "Who is this SKoT she keeps referring to?"

"That's her nickname for the Supreme Kai of Time." Trunks explained. "I wish I could say it was to save her a mouthful, but, I think she just finds it fun. And the Supreme Kai of Time has a soft spot for her."

"For her heroics?" Yarro asked.

Trunks laughed nervously and scratched his head. "Let's just say she likes her Saiyans to have some spirit and leave it at that."


	5. Chapter 5: Saiyan's Gone Wild

"Welcome to Planet Namek!" The Supreme Kai of Time's voice sung through Yarro's ear, as she appeared just above the soggy soil of Namek and gracefully glided down. Up ahead, she could see four colorful figures posing together. "You see those guys over there? They're probably going to be the targets of the Time Breakers, so be vigilant!"

"Understood." Yarro said, as she gently hopped on the spot and thought back to her brief time spent on the Named of her Universe. She could tell that this one was different, partially because the Universe just had a slightly different feel to it, and partially because she was told as such before she went in through the Time Scroll. "Their tactic will be the usual show up, power up, go away, correct?"

"Yeah, that's kind of what they do." The Supreme Kai answered. "They barely ever get involved, probably because they know they don't stand a chance against Isala and Trunks." She giggled. "They're still standing by, so if you see Towa or Mira, you let me know right away. Got it?"

"Got it." Yarro said. "You said that the most recent power ups are very large."

"Mhmm, that's right."

"I think it will need to be, because these four aren't going to be much of a challenge as it stands." Yarro said. Then she sensed the sudden arrival of a much stronger power level, and soared high into the air to try to catch the source of it. As much as she focused, she couldn't quite narrow it down, not until it had already vanished...and the four figures standing nearby suddenly grew in power. "Hm."

"Be careful what you wish for..."

"I didn't realize I was speaking to an Eternal Dragon." Yarro said.

"Now's no time for joking! Quick, get them before they get to the rest of the Z-Fighters!"

"On it." Yarro said, as she rocketed to the ground and brought herself up just before she hit it. She soared through the air as fast as her power could carry her, feeling more and more of the Ginyu Force's power as she get closer. She was almost upon them when they span around where they stood, facing her with auras that made the air around them ripple. Two rings of golden energy formed around her hands and the Ginyu Force scatted...all but one.

Recoome's rictus grin grew wider as Yarro got closer, and he leaped just at the last second. She didn't have time to grab him, as his leap into the air came with a tight grip on her waist. They reached the apex of his jump and, much as she struggled, she couldn't escape his grip. She re-absorbed the energy of her failed attack and focused it inwards, hearing nothing but the wind and Recoome's taunt. "I got you, you little...uh...thing!"

Then she slammed into the ground with little more than her energy to defend her, her body buried up to her waist in the ground as a throbbing pain echoed through her head. She could hear the Ginyu Force laughing even through the foot of dirt, then she felt a tight grip on her ankle.

"That will teach you for interfering with us! Now say you're sorry!" Recoome said, as he yanked Yarro out of the ground...and found that an extra pair of arms had grown behind her existing pair. She used her core strength to pull herself up, her armsreaching for his head. His hands released her legs, snapping to grab her reaching arms...but her other two caught them, her hands wrapped around his neck, and she slammed all seven feet of him to the ground, head-first.

"Sorry." Yarro said, as she adjusted her grip so that she was gripping the stunned Recoome's massive neck from behind and planted her feet on the ground. The rest of the Ginyu Force watched in stunned silence as she hoisted him up into the air above her, then suplexed him into the canyon his last attack had left. "Sorry." Recoome grunted with the impact, struggling against her grip on his arms. Then she flipped over him, still gripping his head, and lifted him up for another suplex.

Then released his arms halfway through. Recoome had but a second of freedom for his arms, as she squeezed all four hands around his skull, introduced her knees to his forehead, and fell back to the ground with a burst of speed that sent the giant reeling backwards.

"Why don't we assume the sorry is a given?" Yarro asked, as she bounced back to her feet. "I'd rather not get a sore throat, is all." She said, as she spotted the little green member of the group take in a deep breath. In the next moment, she felt a piercing pain right at the center of her chest and she was flying a hundred feet in the air, with one of Namek's trees falling beneath her and the little green man catching his breath. She winced, steadying herself, thinking of her next move.

She wasn't prepared for the blue burst that came next, followed by Burter's boot against her jaw. She was sent flying backwards, but only for a moment, as Burter was already behind or beside her, with another kick. They just kept coming and coming, until the villain slammed his foot into her back and sent her flying towards the ground once more.

"It looks like I found the fastest loser." Burter snickered, but Yarro's attention was on the red ball of energy being gathered at the site of the Ginyu Force.

"Let me finish 'er off for ya." Jeice laughed, as he unleashed the searing red ball at his falling target. Yarro focused her ki into her hands in the fractions of a second between her and Jeice's attack, then span as soon as it hit. All four of her hands clutched it, encircled with a blue band, then released it in the direction of the blue blur that had just attacked her. She filled the band still in her hands until it became a cylinder, which turned into a beam that echoed around her as she slammed into the ground with a nasty squish.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing those things!" Burter yelled out, half of his face seared by Jeice's attack as he darted down to the explosion. Guldo had raised his defense in time, whereas Jeice and Recoome's armor had been singed by the desperate blast. Yarro was just recovering from her fall, using her four arms to pull herself up, her eyes closed as she took in several heavy breaths. "Let's just get her now"

"Right...good idea." Jeice nodded, and joined Burter's leap at the ground-bound Saiyan with a volley of ki blasts. Yarro ducked beneath Burter's first few jabs, then gripped his shoulder and spun him around to take the brunt of the attacks to his back. "Watch it, mate!" He barked at his comrade, then he flew overhead to continue his assault while Burter grimaced in pain.

Recoome had recovered from his blows to the head and charged towards Yarro with his elbow raised high. "You're gonna get it this time!" He called out, his elbow finding a place between the Saiyan's shoulderblades and forcing her to release her grip on Burter as she grunted. Her eyes were still closed as Recoome tried to slam his knee into her gut, finding nothing but air as she slipped to the side of him and shoved him into the lunging Burter.

With all three of his allies now fighting Isala, Guldo was free to attack, and that he did, as he focused his eyes on the nimble target and started to unleash paced beams of green energy from his eyes. She hopped over the first, targeted at her legs, also avoiding an attempted leg-sweep by the much larger Recoome. Burter darted behind her, swinging for her gut, but she grabbed his arm with two of her own and yanked it down into her knee. Guldo shot a blast for where her knee would be, but was thwarted by Recoome grabbing it and yanking her upwards.

Yarro hovered in the air, as Jeice unleashed a red ball of energy that homed in on the young woman. Recoome leaped up, headbutting her in the base of the spine and wincing from the recent trauma. Jeice's blast collided with her stomach, bending her back the other way and sending her careening back into the fray. Guldo timed his blast just right, aiming for her skull, a certain finishing blow all for Guldo.

The beam was caught between two of Yarro's fingers at the last moment, hovering there as though it had been frozen in time. She rolled it along her fingers, then into her hand, and jabbed it into Burter's foot. The fastest in the universe shrieked at the pain.

"Guldo, you idiot!" Burter squealed, hopping up and down while Recoome grabbed the bruised Saiyan's head between both of his hands and hoisted her up. Then, he leaped into the air, right past Jeice, and started to swing her around, swinging the whole of her body weight by her neck, over and over, her eyes still closed even as more and more pressure was put on her spine. The ginger warrior was laughing as he swung her, then finally, laid himself flat, his arms out wide and his eyes fixed on her face as her head went on a collision course with the ground.

Yarro opened her eyes, and Recoome saw two blazing golden rings around her pupils. He had just a moment to wonder what they were, when a massive concussive force shot out from the orbs, colliding with his head and snapping his neck backwards. His grip loosened and Yarro slipped out of his grasp, with just enough time to kick his unconscious body straight at the breathing-in Guldo, who he landed on with a splat.

"My lungs! He's on my lungs!" Guldo squawked, doing his best to push off the dead weight of Recoome, but Burter and Jeice were already focused on the just-recovered Yarro. They darted up as though to flank her, then darted over her, over her guard, and linked arms as they started to spin at rapid speed, energy pouring out of them. Blue mixed with red, becoming a maelstrom of purple that shot straight down at Yarro.

Yarro darted backwards, away from the grape vortex and shot out a few small ki blasts. They were sucked up as though they'd never hit, and still it flew towards her. She brought both of her hands together for a beam that was sure to pierce through the whirling ball, but all she saw was the pattern of ripples on its surface shifting for a moment. She shifted above, to the side, down, and saw that it had no problem with changing course to catch up with her, and without bursts, it soon would.

Yarro picked up the largest tree she could, yanking it out of the ground with significant effort and strain on her back, then hurled it at the orb. As with her beams and her blasts, it had little effect, save for changing the ripples on its surface. She pursed her lips, then nodded to herself. She held her hands out in front of her, fingers forming circles within circles. First blue, then yellow, then another yellow, then a blow, until she had a shield of concentric circles in front of her. She flicked the outermost one, and they cascaded towards the combined attack of Burter and Jeice.

Blue met purple, sucking away some of its energy and leaving a purple-filled band behind. The yellow found places to stick. More and more purple was stripped away by the circles, the yellow bands forming humanoid shapes, as the ball got closer and closer until there was no energy left, and Burter and Jeice fell to the ground, bound by golden bands.

"I win." Yarro smirked, clutching at her gut as she was teleported away.


	6. Chapter 6: Underwear, Alcohol, Vegetable

The resort district hung quietly in the sky above Conton City, with few sounds but the chit-chat of various Time Patrollers who sought refuge from the bustling city below. One small group was sat on a boat at the center of the sea-like lake, with a picnic blanket laid out in the middle.

At the front of the boat sat Yarro, her legs crossed as she tended to the stacks-upon-stacks of snacks laid out before her. She was still in her uniform, damaged as it was, with her boots removed while she demurely ate her meal. On the other side sat Jinni and Kedavra, one with a modest selection of human food, the other with a rainbow of candies just waiting to be devoured.

"...can't believe you managed to beat them even with their poses!" Jinni exclaimed, as she wedged a water bottle between her legs. "They're, like, history's premiere," Her eyes were drawn away from Yarro by a persistent tapping noise. "Posers!"

"The Captain wasn't present." Yarro explained, after a lightning-fast cutting of her onigiri. Tap. "And I think the fact that they were in Supervillain form had rather more to do with it." Tap-tap.

"Yeah, well, still, it's impressive." Jinni grinned. Tap-tap. "And five on one, too! How'd yo do it?" Tap-tap-tap. "Did you spend a lot of time hunting them down," Tap-tap-tap. "Separating them from the rest of the group," Tap-tap-tap-tap. "Ooh, or a big badass area of eff-Kedavra, will you stop doing rick shots with your candy?!" She snapped, as the Majin's orb-shaped candy hit the back of the boat, bounced twice beneath Yarro's bench, then rolled down one of the oars and bounced, right into her mouth.

"It is necessary." Kedavra protested, as she chewed on the candy and reached for another from her bowl.

Yarro waited with Jinni for an elaboration, but none came. Instead, Kedavra performed another trick shot, which was much like the last, save for bouncing off of the oar, rolling around the rim of a tilted bowl, and propelling itself into her mouth.

"How is that necessary? You pick up the food and you put it in your mouth. You manage it every day!" Jinni said.

"I manage this, as well." Kedavra said, then reached out for another piece of candy when Jinni's hand snapped out and grabbed her by the wrist. "You are holding my arm."

"The tapping is really, really annoying, Kedavra." Jinni pleaded with the Majin. "Please stop, or I'll have to kick your butt." Kedavra's head tilted, a few moments passed, then Jinni's hand started to sink in to Kedavra's arm. "H-Hey! Stop that right now!"

"You touched me first." Kedavra pointed out. "I am now touching back. No complaining." She said, as she used her other hand to pick up a candy and threw it at the far edge of the boat while Jinni struggled to pull her arm free.

Yarro caught the candy between her chopsticks and held it there. Kedavra's beady eyes suddenly became intense in focus. "Release her, or I'll ruin your trick shot."

"You cannot. I have a streak." Kedavra protested, her voice remaining perfectly level even while Jinni tried to pinch the slimey flesh of her shoulder.

"My grip is slipping." Yarro said, as she wobbled her chopsticks back and forth, the little orb seeming as though it might slip at any moment.

"Saiyans are too aggressive." Kedavra released Jinni from her flesh, and Yarro flicked the candy back along its original course. It rolled off of the rim of the bowl, then rebounded off of Jinni's water bottle. Kedavra caught it it in her gooey tongue. "You will be punished."

"I look forward to it." Yarro said, nonchalantly, as she looked to Jinni, who had grumpily taken a bite of her sandwich. "To answer your question, I simply fought them. There were some difficulties, especially with Recoome. I'd read that he was particularly durable, so I thought that targeting his head would be the best way of winning. With four of them there, I couldn't go for a thousand cuts, so I had to make time for a decisive blast."

"Recoome is so tough!" Jinni beamed, her recent troubles having washed away. "That's a good idea. I've seen a few fights with him and people make the mistake of just going for a regular beatdown, but the guy's got stamina for days! So, how'd you do it? The classic Turtle School Kamehameha?"

"I used the technique I used against you, when we started sparring." Yarro said. "But I hid them behind my eyes, as I needed time to charge them without the Ginyu Force becoming aware of my plan."

"That was totally cheap, by the way." Jinni said. "But that's smart, definitely! What do you call that technique? You should add it to the database!"

"I don't name my techniques. Intonations are a crutch for inefficient ki management."

"Wow, just gonna diss every fighter ever, huh?" Jinni laughed. "Lots of good fighters call their attacks."

"Then they do it out of habit." Yarro asserted. "I don't use them to begin with, so there is no need for a name."

"I think we've got a little ego on our hands, huh?" Jinni asked, looking to Kedavra.

"Indeed. We should beat her up."

"Er, no, that's...anyway!" Jinni shook her head. "Why don't I come up with a name for them? You can't just have your biographry read; Yarro, a Saiyan from Universe 6. Her signature techniques include Yarro's Technique 12, Yarro's Technique 27, and Yarro's Ultimate Technique 3. Why don't you let me name them?"

Yarro stared at Jinni as she fed the segments of tofu she'd recently cut up. "...I suppose. Don't embarrass me with them."

"I'll be nice." Jinni winked at the Saiyan. "That technique, the golden rings? It's always a surprise. Ambush? No, that's boring, Jinni. It's shaped like a ring...uhhh..." She put a finger to her lips as she thought, then snapped her fingers. "Proposal! It's a gold ring, you surprise people with it, and I know you used it to trap me sometimes – so you engaged me. Eh? Get it? Pretty snazzy, right?"

Yarro thought back to what she'd read up on Earthling customs, then nodded. "That actually works. I like it."

"When it comes to techniques, Jinni's your gal." Jinni grinned. "And that one where you catch energy...well, how about the same theme? Put A Ring On It. Self-explanatory, you put a ring on ki blasts."

"Will these all be courtship themed?" Yarro asked. "I suspect people will get the wrong idea about me, if so."

"Hey, I'm not the one using all that ring symbolism in her techniques." Jinni stuck her tongue out. "But, no, just those two for now. Did you use any other techniques while you were fighting the Ginyu Force? I know I saw you rifling through the database!"

"I followed some of your suggestions and discovered the...Four...Arms Technique."

"The Four Witches Technique of the Three-Eyed People!" Jinni declared. "That's a good one, and it's rare, even rarer outside of Earthlings. Most people find it hard to keep control of the extra limbs as soon as they get them – but I guess your style is all about control, right?"

"Correct. I found it quite useful, especially for overpowering Recoome and I suspect other highly physical opponents." Yarro explained. "I plan to use it while performing mundane actions, just to ensure I'm synchronized."

"Nice, nice. I've used it sometimes, but it messes up my aesthetics and my poses, so...only if I really need to. Now, Max Power, that's a technique fit for a body like mine." She said, as she flexed her bicep and kissed it.

"What does it do?" Yarro's eyes drifted from Jinni's muscular shoulders, down to the green tank-top that may as well not have been there considering her abs could still be seen beneath it, then at the jeans that her thighs seemed to want to burst out of. "Create new clothes?"

"It makes me even more muscly!" Jinni decided that it was time to take things up a notch, and so flexed both of her biceps. "Taller, too. It's like I stepped right out of mythology to grace the universe with perfection."

"I see." Yarro put the last of her food bowls to the side, piling them up in a neat stack. "Why don't you use that form all of the time, if you prefer it?"

"I, uh, well, it's for special occasions. Like fights." Jinni explained, as she scratched the back of her head. "I'd walk into doorways and I'd have to get whole new wardrobes and, if you get too many muscles, you can't scratch your back properly. So I'm just going to reach regular mortal perfection, and go Max Power when I have to!"

"I'm preparing a shot." Kedavra interrupted, as she held up some candy. "It will be my last. It will be perfect." She said.

"Alright, get on with it." Jinni rolled her eyes.

Kedavra clutched the silver sphere between two fingers, then tossed it. It rolled off of the oar, bounced twice, hit the prow of the boat, rolled up the other oar, darted around the rims of Yarro's stacked bowls, bounced off of her shoes, then arced out of the boat. It skipped along the water for a few bounces, then collided with a coconut that set it flying into the air, where it was caught by a hand.

"Hey, candy." Trunks said, as he tossed it into his mouth and flew down to the boat. "Mm, lemon-lime. How are things, Time Patro-!" He was interrupted by a purple Majin leaping at him, tackling the man into the water with a splash that sent water splashing high into the air. Yarro waved her hand, shooting a weak energy wave that made the droplets evaporate before it could hit them, then leaned over the edge of the boat.

There was another splash, followed by a partially-chewed candy shooting out of the water. Kedavra followed, catching it in her mouth and swallowing the candy. Then she glided back down to the boat and took her former seat.

"I did it."

"What did you jus-" Jinni was interrupted by Trunks' arms seizing the edge of the boat, his clothes and hair soaked through as he hoisted himself up with a gasp, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Trunks!" The Earthling cried, as she grabbed him to help pull him into the boat, where he landed on the picnic blanket at the center.

"She..." Trunks coughed. "She just..did the heimlich on me..." He wheezed, shaking water out of his ears. "Why would...you do that?"

"Your digestion was an obstacle to my success." Kedavra stated, as her gooey body absorbed the water covering her and her outfit so that she was left bone dry on her seat.

Trunks peered up at Kedavra, groaned, then slumped against the side of the boat. "Fine, I'm sorry." He said, despite the big bowls of candy clearly within view. "I was just coming by to see how everyone was doing. I heard your mission went well, Yarro." He managed to shoot a smile her way, though it was followed by another brief coughing fit.

"It did." Yarro nodded. "I was just telling Jinni about the techniques I used. How was yours?"

"It went about as well as you'd hope." Trunks said. "We were able to run the Time Breakers off, but, it's time travel, so they'll probably pick up where they left off and we'll be back to Namek on the next patrol. I hope you're ready for it, because the Supreme Kai of time wants you there."

"I'll do my best." Yarro promised. "Would you like some water?"

"No, I'm uh, I've just had enough of that." Trunks laughed.


	7. Chapter 7: Coping Techniques

Yarro woke like clockwork. She sat up. She looked at the dome-shaped room around her. She stepped out of bed. She noticed her uniform was scattered across the floor, and folded it up. She walked into the shower. She stepped out of the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror. She wove her messy hair into a tight bun and bound it with a gold clasp. She walked out of the bathroom and put her uniform on once more. Her schedule was interrupted by stirring in the bed.

"You're going already?" Asked the girl, the sheet slipping off of her naked form as she rubbed her eyes and ran a hand through her pink bedhead.

"Good morning." Yarro smiled at last night's companion. "And, yes, I am. I've training scheduled in seven minutes, and I'd like to grab something to eat before I get there."

"Hrrm..." The girl playfully glowered at Yarro. "And who's cute enough that you'd rather spend your morning with them and not me, huh?"

"Trunks, but trust me when I say that you're my favored pink-haired Saiyan." Yarro said, as she stepped up beside the bed and leaned down to place a brief kiss on the girl's forehead. "And that would be a proper kiss, were it not for morning breath."

"I'll take it." The girl laid back against her pillows. "I'll see you around, then."

"Yes, Casta, you will." Yarro said. "And you can introduce me to your friend with the..."

"Big honking boobs?" Casta laughed.

"...yes."

"Yeah, I will." Casta said. "Now go away. I need my beauty sleep." She closed her eyes.

Yarro looked fondly at the young woman for just a moment, then departed her home and stood in the early morning of Conton City. It took her a moment to remember how to navigate this section of the city, but she soon remembered where she could grab some ultra-concentrated breakfast and arrived at the training grounds of the academy with a minute to spare.

Trunks was already there, dressed in dark grey pants and a vest top that clung to his lean muscles. He smiled at Yarro as she arrived, and gave her a little wave as he put down his juice.

"Welcome to the morning grind." Trunks said. "You look like you've just wandered out of initiation."

"As opposed to what?" Yarro raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"I suppose I'm not used to it." Trunks admitted. "Isala arrives at training looking like she's just rolled out of bed. But, that's Saiyan hair for you."

"I like to dress appropriately."

Trunks nodded. "It suits you. Reminds me of…well, you wouldn't know her, but she's a formidable woman."

"A fighter?"

"A mother." Trunks laughed. "It looks like you're ready, and I'm ready, so why don't we get started? Some simple motions should get us warmed up." He squared up, and Yarro did the same. He started with some faint punches, Yarro blocking or dodging them, before returning the favor with a similar set.

"So," Trunks said, as he dipped to the side of a fist – she was too short for him to duck efficiently, but had surprising reach. "I hear that you're getting popular with the Time Patrollers."

"Am I?" Yarro asked, her eyes focused on the motions as she used her forearm to push aside a jab.

"There are some rumors making the rounds." Trunks replied, hopping over an attempted sweep. "That you're something of a...er...ladies' lady."

"I'm pleased to see that the Time Patrollers are maintaining an air of professionalism." Yarro remarked, weaving to Trunks' side. "But, yes. I am enjoying spending time with my colleagues. What of it?" She threw a jab that Trunks hopped back from, twisting to face her.

"Nothing, I promise. There aren't any rules against that...at least, not as long as there's not a direct chain of command." Trunks said, as he went for a wide swing and found nothing but air. "I was just surprised to hear it, is all. You seem so...put-together. All of the people I've known who do...that kind of thing were, well, not." He swayed backwards, away from an uppercut that brushed the air before his nose.

"I find that it's one of the few methods of relieving tension I can enjoy." Yarro stated, simply, as she stepped to the side of a knee and kicked at Trunks' ankle. "I do not fight to let off steam." He hopped over it, swinging his leg around for her head. "I do not revel." She ducked beneath it and brought her elbow to his gut, which he just managed to block with his arm. "Or gorge, or drink, or joyride. It is something I can enjoy in relative privacy."

"Makes sense." Trunks used his momentum to swing his fist for Yarro's head, which she caught. "Is there a reason you don't like to do any of those other things?" He asked, as she flipped herself into the air and he ducked to avoid her kick.

"My people do not look kindly on my methods." Yarro answered, as she split her legs to avoid Trunks' foot catching her when she landed. "Techniques are passed down through family lines, and to not use them is seen as disrespectful. I found that lacking." She lunged for a punch at Trunks' heart, but he caught her fist. "And suicidal at worst." He used the gap in her defenses to punch her in the gut, and she grabbed his wrist before he could strike. "So when I started thinking for myself, I was seen as a delinquent."

"Break." Trunks said, and released his grip on Yarro as she released hers on his. "That doesn't sound right. Somebody had to invent those techniques in the first place, didn't they?"

"Yes." Yarro said.

"We'll use ki blasts next." Trunks said, as he darted backwards across the arena and Yarro did the same. He started off with a simple yellow ki blast, which Yarro knocked to the side. "So...why did you want to avoid being seen as a delinquent so much, if it was just one thing?"

Yarro paused as she considered the question, both of her hands lighting up as she sent a pair of blasts towards Trunks. "There are gangs on Sadala that can be quite troublesome. They are not respected, and being seen in association with them would do terrible things for one's reputation. I wanted to become a Hero of Justice, so it was unacceptable."

Trunks raised both of his arms to block the blast, then sent a volley of them towards Yarro. "How do you fix something like that?"

Yarro blocked the attacks with a single upraised arm, then sent a volley back at Trunks. "Saiyans respect many things. Adhering to duty is one of them. So I began to act as duty would dictate. Nobody could impugn my standing if, aside from my creativity, I was a model Saiyan. So that is what I did. I attended events in proper attire, down to rules most had forgotten about. I followed social conventions to the letter. I did not allow myself to do anything that could give them any excuse to see me as any worse than I was."

Trunks nodded in understanding, having finished charging up his ki. He let it flow over him for long enough to continue the conversation. "And that's why you're so formal?" He asked, then unleashed his ki across the arena in a large golden sphere.

Isala flipped over the sphere as it arrived and dissipated harmlessly against the far wall. "Perhaps." Golden light coalesced around her hands and she sent a spinning oval of ki towards Trunks, who narrowed his eyes at the blast and then dove through an opening. "It has been a few years since I made the decision. How I act now is simply who I am."

"Right." Trunks nodded, as he rolled into an upright position and shot a quick-traveling blast at Yarro. "And it worked, didn't it? You were commanding your own squad when the Supreme Kai noticed the time distortions."

Yarro lifted her finger and caught the sphere on its tip, then slowly drained its energy. "It was successful, yes. Although my methods were looked down on, I was a successful warrior and capable of leading a squad without ego getting in the way of our performance, as sometimes happens. At first, some of them saw my techniques as unusual, unwanted, and resented having to work for me for the fear that it would reflect poorly on them." She then pointed her other finger at Trunks and mirrored his last attack.

Trunks cut through the sphere with the edge of his palm and sent a beam of energy towards Yarro, who dodged to the side of it. "You seemed to get along with them when we saw you." He slid under her returning beam, his hands already alight.

"Over time, they grew to respect me. I think it was the fact that I saved their lives several times, that led to the softening of their hearts." Yarro used both her fists to block each of the narrow beams Trunks sent her way. "I wish they would have learned my techniques themselves, but none were quite so willing to do that. It seems that success and etiquette will only get you so far." She swung her palm before her, sending a sweeping blast Trunks' way.

Trunks shot a quick blast that shattered the center of the blast and let the rest of it soar passed him. "Well, we're happy to have you here, and I'm sure everyone will be interested in learning your techniques if you keep doing as well as you have." He said, as he brought his hands together to charge up for a beam. Yarro did the same. They locked eyes, the second split into segments, then they simultaneously unleashed their attacks.

The beams collided dead in the center of the arena, forming a great sphere of energy that crackled and waved, sending off pulses of energy as they fought for dominance. It swayed back and forth, sometimes towards Trunks, sometimes towards Yarro, but never for very long. It seemed like they might have stayed in a stalemate forever, when Trunks' beam surged towards Yarro and her own attack weakened.

Just as it seemed that Yarro might be sent flying back by the beam, a blue band became evident right at the end of her edge of the beam. It surrounded Trunks' attack, Yarro spun, and sent it shooting straight back at the boy. He stopped his attack, but the energy was still on a collision course with his face. He held out his palm, Yarro felt a surge of energy, and the beam dissipated as it collided with a small blast.

"Nicely done." Trunks smiled, letting his arms rest at his side while Yarro did the same. "When you're dealing with a tough opponent, you can't always count on pure power to win those struggles. It's a good thing to learn how to escape them, or you'll end up wasting much more of your energy than you have to for a fight you can't win."

Yarro nodded. "I believe we've spent enough time warming up."

"Yeah, I think so, too." Trunks smirked. "But before we start, I'd like to ask that you don't use any of your custom techniques – the ring ones. You don't want to rely on them when you're learning something brand new. You'll want to use what you're learning fresh, so you'll know how to counter it if it's ever used against you."

"...understood." Yarro said. "For the record, those techniques are called Proposal and Put A Ring On It."

"...huh." Trunks said. "I suppose Jinni didn't learn about your habits before she named them."

"She did not." Yarro confirmed. "I suppose it's similar to a man called Trunks, who never shows his legs."

"Not to most people, anyway."


	8. Chapter 8: Regicide and Lettuce

Yarro dodged to the side of an elongated Namekian fist, seizing it with both of her arms and raising an eyebrow at the person on the other end. Lord Slug's retraction of his arm sent him flying towards the Saiyan, who gripped his arm more tightly and slammed the crook of her elbow into his throat. He fell, stunned by the attack, just as the former leader of the Crusher Corps came back over the horizon he'd just been thrown across.

"Keep at it, Yarro!" Trunks encouraged the Saiyan, who watched her opponent get closer and closer with a tilt of her head. "We're standing by, but hot on the trail of Towa and Mira. Only one of us will be able to come if you need help."

"Understood." Yarro said, just as Turles managed to close the gap and slammed his knee up towards her gut. She slipped to the side of it, slamming her elbow into where his forehead would have been. "All of that build-up for that?" She asked her opponent, who'd slipped behind her back and wrapped his tail around her waist. She snapped her arms around is neck and hurtled both of them to the ground before he could press the grapple.

"It was a calculated risk!" Turles growled, as they finally slammed into the ground, shockwaves were sent through his head, but he kept his tail-grip on her waist. "And one you still won't survive." He assured her, as he blinked passed the spots in his vision and felt an unusual lack of struggling out of his grip.

"Oh. I have to disagree." Yarro said, keeping her eyes focused on the standing Lord Slug as she placed both of her hands on Turles' tail and surrounded it with a collection of golden bands that started to tighten around it.

"Fool. Do you think I haven't mastered my own tail?" Turles chuckled. His back was against hers, as he pulled himself up and she was held a foot off the ground. His tail-grip tightened further, despite the small separation provided by Yarro's rings.

"No." Yarro said, as Lord Slug pointed two of his fingers at her. Her bands continued to tighten, squeeze vice-like around Turles' tail, forcing the taut muscles smaller and smaller. "It's talent that you're lacking." She said, then there was a distinct squishing sound as Turles' tail was suddenly severed from the rest of his body and the bands dissipated.

"What?!" Turles gasped, as he felt Yarro slip off of his back. He span around just in time to see Lord Slug unleash a finger beam at the crouching Yarro, who rolled to the side of it with something furry and floppy clutching in her left hand. "Is that – that's my tail!" He bellowed, then went to grab the small woman, only to be met with a slap in the face from his own tail. "And that was my face!" He said, as he touched a finger to the forming welt.

"Already losing your cool, Turles?" Lord Slug chuckled, as yellow beams started to form in his eyes. "So much for your suppo-" He suddenly gagged, as Turles' tail had been tossed at his neck and wrapped tightly around it with the throw. While he stumbled backwards, Yarro tore through the air like a spear and swung her fist around for a mighty punch that capitalized on the Namekian's lack of balance and sent him toppling into the soil.

"Sorry, were you talking?" Yarro asked Lord Slug, as she swiveled around Turles' attempt at a charging punch. She hopped into the air just as he spun around, attempting to transfer his momentum, then wrapped one arm tightly around his neck and forced him to the ground head-first as they fell. Or, she fell to the ground, while his skull collided with Lord Skull's.

Lord Slug was the first to recover, thanks to his exceedingly efficient regeneration, which meant he got to see Yarro fly high into the air and pointed her fingers at the pair of them. They, and the land surrounding them, exploded in a great flash that sent them both flying into the air among a cloud of moist soil and fire.

Yarro was just about to move in and finish the job, when suddenly the two occupants of the cloud disappeared. She could sense a significant power level not far away, along with theirs, and hesitated. This moment brought her enough time to be there when Trunks suddenly appeared at her side, sword in hand with some faint battle damage.

"Hey." Trunks said to Yarro. "Here's the news: Towa escaped as soon as we found her. Isala is fighting off Mira and Towa came here. I don't think she's sticking around for long – so let me handle her." He said.

"Understood." Yarro nodded, then joined her superior's side as they both rocketed towards the three figures they could both sense. But two of them, those she'd just been fighting, were climbing higher and higher with every passing moment. They arrived at the center of the lake just as Turles and Lord Slug's purple auras flared even brighter, a glowing X emblazoned on their forehead. Yarro locked eyes with the pale blue woman who stood between them, then disappeared before she could blink.

"...I'm going to help you fight these two." Trunks decided, his gaze fixed firmly on the pair. "Isala can handle Mira for now."

"Understood." Yarro said, her eyes widening as Lord Slug suddenly unleashed two green orbs that headed straight for her. She raised her arms to block them, but some of their power still seeped through, forcing her back through the air. She kept her guard up, blinking through the spots on her eyes, just in time to feel Lord Slug's hand on her leg. She was yanked towards him before she could react, only just managing to balance herself before the Nakeian unleashed a flurry of blows.

Trunks couldn't rush in to help Yarro, as Turles sent a volley of purple orbs his way. He knocked aside each and every one of them with sword-swipes so fast that they couldn't be seen, then held out his empty palm and shot a beam of energy where Turles stood on the island. It exploded in a shower of rocks at Turles launched himself into the air and formed a fiery ring of ki between his hands.

Yarro struggled to keep up with the sudden speed of Lord Slug's attacks. For every punch that she knocked aside, there was a kick that caught her legs. For every kick she hopped over, there was an elbow to the side of her skull. They weren't designed to knock her out, but wear her down, and she couldn't get any offense in while she was focused on protecting herself. She met the Namekian's eyes and glared into them as another pair of arms suddenly sprouted from her shoulders and smacked both sides of Lord Slug's skull like a bell.

"Let's swap!" Trunks called out to Yarro, as he flew in to take advantage of Yarro's stunning and cleaved through one of Lord Slug's arms. He landed where Yarro had been standing, while the young woman hopped back. Before their very eyes, Lord Slug's stump was replaced with a brand new arm that shot out at Trunks' face. The half-Saiyan narrowed his eyes as the fist met his forehead and returned the favor threefold, sending the Namekian flying.

Yarro flew up just in time to see Turles focus on her and send a narrow band of energy her way. It was approaching too quickly for her to dodge entirely, and she could feel its searing power even among the potent auras that surrounded her. Fortunately, she knew just how this kind of attack could be used, so she flew towards the ring, tucking her body tight into one narrow form and slid right through the hole in the center, towards Turles, who couldn't raise his guard before her palm slammed into his nose with a crack.

"You," Lord Slug threw a punch at Trunks, and his arm was sliced off. "Think," One knee met Trunks' hip, as they skittered across the lake, and was lopped away for its trouble. "You," He attempted to grip Trunks' sword-wielding wrist and had his grasped instead. "Can," He headbutted Trunks, stretching out his neck and slamming his forehead into his cheek. "Stop," They collided with another island and he spun around, gripping Trunks' hair and mounting him. "Me?!" His limbs regrew and pinned trunks, just as power started flowing to his eyes.

Despite bleeding from his now-broken nose, Turles managed to dodge Yarro's follow-up punch and slammed his knee into her gut. The winded Saiyan went flying into the air, where Turles followed her to her destination. "This is the part where you fall down and bleed to death." He smirked, slamming her back down. She crashed through the ground, into the water, but, before she could hit the lakebed, he planted his boot in her gut and pinned her down. He held out his palm, his ki coalescing around it.

Lord Slug unleashed his ki blast and saw a field of yellow surround Trunks. Their ki clashed for just a moment before Trunks' exploded outwards, overpowering the Namekian's beam and forcing him high into the air on a column of sheer power. He hovered there for a moment before Trunks appeared above him and slashed his sword four times, cutting off each of the Namekian's limbs before driving him back into the island with a final kick.

Yarro had just a moment to process the imminent energy attack, knowing she didn't have time to counter Turles' incoming attack, not from her current position. Her mind scrambled through its bag of tricks and her smirk mirror Turles' despite the pain echoing through her body. Turles was about to unleash his attack when he felt four hands grasp his left arm, another weaker power behind him, then yank it upwards just as he unleashed his attack. A pillar of purple ki erupted out of the lake, boiling the water where he, Yarro, and her multiform clone stood.

Lord Slug was at a bottom of a crater on the island, where the walls had cracked and lake water was already starting to pour in. His limbs regrew once more and he grunted as he stumbled to his feet, using them to support himself as best he could. He panted when he finally stood up...only to be met with another kick from Trunks, who grabbed him by the back of his robes and hoisted him high into the air. The half-Saiyan's eyes weren't on him, but on the section of the lake that had just evaporated into steam.

Turles span around to punch the multiform, but it was already gone by the time he had, and Yarro had tackled him to the ground from behind. He instinctively tried to lash her with his tail, but it was gone, and the water was crashing back in on them. The back of his head was met with a four-armed flurry of punches that collided with his skull over and over again, rocking it until he couldn't think straight and he was suddenly seized by a pair of arms around his shoulders, another around his torso, and a pair of legs seizing his thighs.

"Over here!" Trunks called out to Yarro, as he tossed Lord Slug into the air. Yarro followed suite with Turles, then joined Trunks side. "Just like we practiced." He instructed. The pair of them brought their hands to their sides, poured their energy into them, then brought them both forwards. The golden beams coiled together in the air, heading straight for the two defeated villains and enveloping them in a blinding light. They fell into Namek's waters with not a drop of ki left in them.

"Okay, gotta go. Good work!" Trunks smiled at Yarro, then disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9: The Ki to Victory

Yarro was sat in the center of a training dome, her legs folded, her shoes discarded, and an intricate web of knowledge trembling in her mind. When she plucked one, a hundred others trembled. When she wrapped a node in her mind, a field of strings lit up with potential power. But, even though she designed it, she sometimes struggled to create something worth using. It took patience even when her resources were limited, but now she knew more about the potential of ki than anyone she'd met before.

The only disturbance came in the form of her training partner, Isala, who was occupying herself by sparring with her own multiform. She would have thought observing her would be helpful, but the tailed Saiyan was moving far too quickly for her eyes to track. At points, she wasn't visible at all, save for a flash of her red and gold gi. It was distracting to have a very present and very noisy reminder that she couldn't even glimpse at the peak of the Hero's power. She hadn't considered herself power-hungry, but even a monk's mouth might water before a dragon made of gold.

But the worst part was when Isala stopped sparring with herself, spent a few moments stretching and doing tricks with her sedge hat. The wood ricocheting off of everything, a stark reminder of Kedavra's own trick shots, were the last straw.

"I don't think I'm getting anywhere." Yarro decided, as she stood up and Isala caught her Sedge Hat in one hand. "Perhaps inspiration will strike if we converse. What techniques do you favor?" She asked. Isala floated down to proper ground, replacing her hat on her head and making her faintly sweaty muscles flex. She'd removed the top of her gi, down to the vest and pants, which made their slight age gap more obvious. Just a few years was enough to give Isala the kind of definition that Yarro could only wait for.

"Whatever seems good at the time." Isala grinned lazily. "But that's not going to help you out, so...one of my favorites is the Destructo Disc." As she spoke, she twirled her finger and brought forth a fist-sized whirling disk that she skipped from finger to finger. "You can control it even once you've thrown it, it cuts through just about anything, and it's not a common shape, so people struggle to do anything but dodge. And when they panic, you're standing where they dodged with a boot for their face."

Yarro nodded, as she closed some distance between her and Isala to get a better look. "I glanced over it before. I was concerned about how effective it would be at subduing foes rather than maiming them."

Isala laughed softly and shook her head. "Sometimes somebody has to lose a limb. But, yeah, I don't actually get to see it cut somebody up often, considering what we do, but it's very good when I do use it, and even better for pressure. Since Towa and Mira have this obsession with this one era, everybody there knows what it is and what it can do, and, like I said, the fear of it makes them run into another attack. Not to mention..." She grew the disc until it could provide shade for her whole body, then flipped where she stood.

Isala's feet found the bottom of the disc and she stood there, with her hair falling around her sedge hat, before the disc flipped so that she was standing upright before Yarro.

"You're using the attack as a vehicle." Yarro said. "I don't see the use. Flying is much faster, and this negates the hard-to-see edge."

"It has all kinds of uses." Isala folded her arms around her chest as the whirring disc startled to circle the shorter Saiyan, who did not take the bait of spinning to maintain eye contact. "It keeps people away from close-range, even if just for a moment. It's unexpected. The pressure thing – you're already there to punish them for getting out of its way. And, you don't have to follow its speed, so you can use it like a melee weapon, if you wanted." She hovered back in front of Yarro, then demonstrated a few moves that would have seriously messed up her imaginary foe, were they not imaginary. "And finish up with a kick!" She shifted sideways after one such combo, then kicked near the edge of the disc and sent it flying to the edge of the dome.

Yarro watched the disc dissipate in a shower of golden sparks and nodded. "I see. Is this from experience, or theory?"

"Experience, for almost everything. If it's not in the field, having to make things up on the fly, then it's in sparring." Isala landed on the floor again. "But, if I'm not training with Trunks, I have to use the training wheels variant. If a rookie gets hit by anything else, I'm the one who gets the blame." She paused. "I mean, that's fair, since I would be at fault, but, better that nobody takes either punishment, right?"

"It seems preventable." Yarro said, as she had immediately thought of simply wrapping the disc in one of her blue bands. It would require good timing, and still be vulnerable to punishment, but negate the need to worry about it homing back in on her after a dodge. "Would you like to show me another preferred technique?"

"I'd love to." Isala winked, as she held her finger into the air and unleashed a small array of bright blue beams. Before the ceiling repaired itself, a stick figure in a sedge hat could be seen burned into it. "They're called Death Beams, and I took them from that bastard Frieza, but they're mine now. You can use it at long-range, but I prefer it when you're up close and personal or you've got to keep someone out of your hair."

"Very precise." Yarro concurred. "When do you use them?"

"When you've caught somebody by surprise or you need to hit a part of them you've already hurt or you need a quick solution to a problem. Most people won't keep their attacks on target when their hand's been blasted halfway off their wrist." Isala smirked and briefly gazed into nothing. "And, when I'm kicking somebody – you can't put everything into a kick if you're parallel, and my arms can't reach them when I'm like this," She levitated sideways, and mimed a kick. "But, while they're blocking my feet, I can use it to get through the gaps in their defense."

Yarro went silent as she considered how she could counter this attack, and found herself quickly coming up short. Quick and precise ki blasts being a relative rarity, especially compared to the usual volleys people liked to throw, made it hard to defend against and her usual reversal techniques would be useless. She'd simply have to learn how to block all of the attacks, or utilize one of the universal defensive techniques to be able to block everything. Though, that wasn't very ki efficient even if the blasts were weak.

"And another?" Yarro asked.

Isala raised an eyebrow at the other girl. "One more, no problem, but any more than that and I'm just giving my secrets away for free." She grinned. "After this one, you've got to start sharing too. Sound fair?"

Yarro nodded.

Isala went to lift up her left hand, then paused. "Are you ready?" Her eyes met Yarro's.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Isala grinned and raised her left palm to face Yarro. A great shockwave poured from her hand, illuminated by blue as it sent Yarro hurtling across the dome and into the far wall. She slammed into it and crumpled to the ground, the air torn from her lungs and fortunately only minor aches through her back. Still, she struggled to get back to her feet as Isala flew across the arena and leaned down, grabbing her arm to help her up. "Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?"

"What..." Yarro shook her head, partially at the attack, partially at herself for trying to speak while she was still winded. She relied on the older girl to keep her steady until she had enough control over her lungs to speak. "What was that?"

"They call it Gravity Impact. It's a perfect move." Isala laughed softly. "Well, not really perfect. It's really good for disabling your opponents, but it's pretty easy to see coming even though it covers some distance. If people can get a guard up, it won't do much of anything, so you've got to have somebody backing you up or another way to disable them so they're vulnerable. And depending on what they are, how badly it affects them changes a lot. So, I don't use it for that a lot. It has another, better use. Hit me with something."

Yarro stood on her own two feet as Isala crossed some of the training dome and stood opposite her, palm raised. "Anything?"

"I mean, I'd prefer it if it were beam-shaped, but it could be anything." Isala said.

"Very well." Yarro resisted the urge to pour a lot of her power into this attack. She would have liked some small revenge on Isala for sending her flying across the arena, but it would have been pointless and resulted in nothing but humiliation regardless. So, she planted her feet, flexed her fingers, and brought them together for another technique she'd borrowed from Trunks. A column of golden energy poured out of her hands.

And then Isala unleashed her shockwave, which rippled through the beam and tore it into flecks of light that then dissipated into nothing. The tailed Saiyan dusted off her hands and grinned over at Yarro.

"I want to say that it's easy to use, but, again, it's a situational thing." Isala strolled back towards Yarro. "You've got to predict when your opponent is going to send a ki blast your way, or else use it when they have a long wind-up for their attacks. Like Trunks' Burning Attack. Basically, if it's a situation when you're thinking about going beam-to-beam with your opponent, you can send out a shockwave instead and save yourself the time and energy."

"I see why that would be useful." Yarro said. "But I will stick with the counters I have devised. They seem more flexible."

"Hey, whatever works for you, right?" Isala lightly punched Isala's shoulder. It stung very faintly, probably because she'd had to turn her armor in for repair and had been forced into regular clothing. "I like to keep a handful of tricks up my sleeves and pull them out, you like your versatility, and Trunks...I think he just uses whatever he thinks is the coolest."

Yarro raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? He did not seem the type."

"Oh, are you kidding?" Isala grinned. "He's a badass, and he knows it. You should see what happened when he first went back in time, which is what got him conscripted here in the first place. He wandered in like a mysterious stranger, stared down the Z-Fighters' greatest foe, wiped him out in the most nonchalant way possible. He was totally showing off."

"Interesting."

"Yeah. You can't blame him, though. I know I wouldn't. You go through the kind of life he had and you'd take any chance you got to feel good about yourself." Isala shrugged. "Have you seen him do the I-just-got-hit-but-I-don't-even-care face? That's his favorite."

Yarro shook her head. "What does he think of your fighting style?" She asked, knowing that her Squad tended to have similar disputes.

Isala laughed. "He says I get too emotional and look like I might go Oozaru every other kick. I just hate bad guys, but y'know, I've got a clear enough head to win."

"What is Oozaru?"

Isala smirked. "Oh, you are in for a treat."


	10. Chapter 10: A Nervous Tick

Yarro adjusted the straps of her repaired uniform as she walked through Conton City, her hair still wet from the shower and her muscles still aching from her training. The good thing about the city was that its weather was entirely up to the Supreme Kai, which meant it was always faintly cool and provided a pleasant break from the heat of sparring. And the night sky was always clear, save for the gigantic dragon statue that still loomed and pulled the Saiyan's eye.

Then something much more interesting fought for it, in the form of the statuesque Jinni leaning against the wall outside of her home and fiddling with her personal device. She hadn't seemed to notice Yarro yet.

"Good evening." Yarro said, as she approached. "I hope you haven't been waiting since our earlier meeting." She said, as she placed her hand over the door to her home and it thumped open to reveal the standard furniture it had come with.

"Wha-Uh, no." Jinni flashed a smile at Yarro. "I just checked when the schedule for when the academy's doors were closing and thought...that's when Yarro will be back. So I'll catch her."

"And the sunglasses are still necessary for night time." Yarro stated, as she stepped into her home and Jinni followed.

"Um, yeah? How else can I look cool?" Jinni asked, as the door closed behind her and she cast her gaze over Yarro's home. "What's with the lack of...anything? Did the droids mess up and throw all your things out? They did that to me once." She said, as she sat herself down on the largest chair. "Apparently, some jokester at Capsule Corp snuck in a panty raid program and didn't know that the droids don't actually have a need for specifying panties in their normal activities. So, boom, everything went."

"That sounds stressful." Yarro nodded, as she retrieved two bottles of water and tossed one of them to Jinni. "Was it resolved?"

"Uh, yeah, it was." Jinni laughed, as she balanced the water bottle on her thigh. "It was one model that slipped through the quality approval process that still had the code. They keep that stuff locked down, considering what we do, so they just took the droid back and put it back on the software it was meant to have in the first place."

Yarro pulled off the armor sections of her uniform and stacked them neatly, just inside her bedroom. "To answer your question – no. I've been putting my time to practical use. Decoration isn't that."

Jinni bobbed her head. "Right, that makes sense. You've been spending...almost all of your time training or working or resting between doing those." She licked her lips. "Why don't you let me and Kedavra decorate this place for you? You could let us know what kind of things you like and the next time you come home, it will be more like home."

"If you would like to." Yarro said. "But for now, I need to sleep. We can discuss this another time."

Jinni frowned as she stood up, tapping the top of her water bottle with her fingers. She half-turned to the door and looked back at Yarro. "Before I go, can I ask you something serious?"

Yarro nodded.

"Do you actually enjoy spending time with me, and, Kedavra, I guess?" Jinni asked, as she met the shorter woman's eyes. "I understand that you're busy and everything, trying to catch up with all the elite Time Patrollers you're working with. I'd probably work harder too, if I was where you are, and I know you've got this...formality thing, but, uh, it sometimes feels like you don't actually care about spending time with us outside of it being a thing for you to do. It feels as though you could put any other Time Patrollers beside you and you'd enjoy the time just as much."

A faint create formed on Yarro's brow, as she tossed her empty water bottle into the trash. "I do enjoy spending time with you. What gave you the impression otherwise?"

"It's...this thing. How, when we want to spend time with you, it's always in segments between when you want to do something else. You do more training that you have to, even when we're with you, or want to spend time with you, and hang out. We might just be settling in for some good conversation and then it turns out you've got some sparring booked, or a new technique to learn, or we might just be asking you to hang out and you're going straight from the training grounds to the weights to the meditation to...whatever else is next."

"How well I succeed here is important to me." Yarro said, evenly. "We have the duty of protecting all of time, and I will not allow myself to falter selfishly."

"So...you do enjoy spending time with us, but you think it's selfish to do that more than spending almost every waking hour training?" Jinni asked, and got a bob of the head in response. "That…kind of makes me feel better? I feel like a jerk for even bringing this up..." She laughed nervously and ran a hand through her bleached hair. "Is there any way I can convince you to rest a little more? I know I like having you around, and so does Kedavra, and we both want to spend more time with you than we do."

"As much time as my schedule allows for, I will give to you and others who would enjoy my company." Yarro answered.

"Yeah, about that." Jinni couldn't meet Yarro's eyes as she said the words. "There's a lot of talk about you going around and sleeping with a lot of the women here..."

Yarro stared at Jinni in the silence that followed. "I'd be willing to sleep with you."

"What?" Jinni's eyes widened behind her sunglasses. "That's not...what I maent." She laughed and shuffled her feet. "It's, uh, thanks for the offer? But, no, I mean. Don't you think that some of these women might be going into it with more than you have in mind? I know how much time you spend with your friends, and I know that it's not a lot, and I know that you're not spending any more than a night and a morning with them."

"I make certain my intentions are clear." Yarro said. "I have never implied an ongoing relationship is a possibility. Nobody has complained."

"Not to you, maybe." Jinni said. "But people know that me and Kedavra usually spend time with you between training, and so they're coming up to us for answers, and I don't know what to tell them. I can't even convince you to spend more time with us myself, so I know I can't get you to do stuff with them, and then I can't tell you because I get worried that you might get annoyed with me for butting into your business, and if I tell them that I can't, then they start glaring at me and then rumors are spread about us..."

Yarro considered Jinni's words, then shook her head. "It is their problem to deal with, not yours or mine. I apologize if it has caused problems."

"But...you're not actually going to do anything about it?"

"No. I don't see anything that I can do while maintaining my current schedule."

Jinni sighed and tapped her water bottle against her knee. "What is it that makes you want to be so rigid about this, Yarro? If you want to spend as much time training as possible, that's fine, that's good, that's what Yarro does. I get that. But, you don't have to do it in the way you do it all the time. The instructors here aren't very rigid at all. They're going to be willing to change things around for you, or anyone, like if it's somebody's birthday or something."

"I do not want to be seen as somebody who doesn't value their time." Yarro said. "The effort they put into teaching me is priceless, and I do not want to sabotage that by changing plans. It would not reflect well on me, as a student, or as a Time Patroller. If there is an emergency of some sort, I may be willing to make time for you."

"That's not really what I'm looking for, here." Jinni said, her shoulders slumping. "If you're only willing to make time for us when there's an emergency, then that doesn't really work as a friendship, does it? I mean, it's the same kind of relationship that I have with a senzu bean or the Doctor. I don't want that kind of relationship – I want one where we hang out, have fun, talk about whatever. And I bet there's a lot of things that you'd want to talk about too, if you were willing to open up a bit more..."

Yarro shook her head. "The amount of time I spend with you is up for me to decide. I'll take your words into consideration, but they're not what I'm going to base my decisions on. There are other Time Patrollers here, if you would like to have the kind of friend you're describing. I'm happy with where our relationship currently is."

Jinni winced at the words as they came out and shuffled to the door. "Right...sorry..." She pushed the button to open the door and paused. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you have a good night, Yarro." She said, before stepping out into the night.

Yarro took a few moments to catch her breath, as she padded over to the door and locked it. This was the last of the pressure that she wanted, the one that had been so tempting during her initiation to the Heroes of Justice. When there had been other initiates willing to spend time with her, all too often they would come with invitations that would only lead to her being looked down on in the eyes of their elders. And from there, it was only a matter of time until she was branded a delinquent and exiled.

Or else took on the attitude herself and met with a far worse fate.

The memory made her shudder, as she stripped out of the rest of her uniform and headed straight for her bed. She tried to refocus her mind on all of the things she'd learned during the day, mimicking hand motions, reviewing the new threads she'd added to the web of knowledge in her head. She knew that she was getting more powerful every day. She could feel it in her bones and in her soul. It was worth it.

Then she crawled into her bed and found that she couldn't fall asleep. She puzzled over why. She had followed the same timetable she did every day. She was going to bed at the same time, she'd woken at the same time, she was wearing what she always wore to bed and had eaten just as long before. The only difference to some recent nights was that she was sleeping in her own bed, but the physical exertion was more than accounted for in her late-night training. As much as she wanted to resist it, she could only come to one conclusion.

Yarro pulled up her personal device and reviewed her schedule. Training with various mentors, scheduled time patrols with rest periods and the anticipated time it would take. At first, it seemed like there was nothing she could do. But then she spotted a period of training with Old Kai, who hadn't quite gotten over his grudge against Isala. And there was a spot available in the Room of Spirit and Time. She sent a request to the Old Kai and was surprised to find an instant response.

Five minutes in the Room of Spirit and Time. Fifty five for her friends.

Yarro rested easily after that.


	11. Chapter 11: Add Mira, Hardly Know Her

"Yarro! Trunks needs your help!" Yarro heard the Supreme Kai's voice in her ear, just as she was expecting to be teleported away from the defeated Cooler. "Towa's running, Isala is after her, and Trunks is fighting Mira alone. We don't know how powerful he is now, but...it's bad, okay! Take a capsule and you'll be sent right there!"

"Understood." Yarro said, as she removed one of the small devices from inside her armor and downed its contents. Her wounds knitted closed, her bruising faded, and she felt as ready as she had been when she first stepped onto Namek. Then came the tug of teleportation and she found herself hovering in the far reaches of Namek's atmosphere, just out into space.

She immediately centered her ki while her eyes took in the scene before her. Trunks was fending off the white-haired Android with his blade, rapidly swiping away at the reinforced limbs that tried to bat him through the vacuum. Mira himself seemed as wounded as Trunks, both of their gear tarnished with little more than flesh wounds, and both of their power was off the charts. She had to center herself on what she knew, which was the simple transformation that would allow her to survive in space. Her guts shifted, and she complimented them with another pair of arms sprouting from her back. She would have to go all-in from the start and pick her moments.

Yarro shrouded her power level while Mira continued to whittle away at Trunks' defense, the half-Saiyan looking for an opening that he could take advantage of, but constantly being on the back foot. Yarro darted up behind Mira and suddenly allowed her power to flare, both pairs of arms seizing the android's and stopping his attacks dead in their tracks.

"Boo." Yarro whispered in the Android's ear, as Trunks capitalized with a slash for Mira's gut. The Android blocked it with his knee, making the sword rebound and giving him the momentum to flip where he stood. Yarro was jostled, the sheer force of his movement making it a struggle to maintain her grip on his arms, but she clung as tightly as she could while Trunks went for another couple of blows and was found wanting by the Time-Breaker's defense.

"Trunks," Yarro exhaled, as she fought against Mira's writhing muscles that fought to throw her off with every opening. She had to brace her knees against his back just to maintain her grip. "This one," She grunted, her muscles taut and stretching her skin. "I can absorb his energy. Yes?" Her words met Trunks' mind, a necessity for the space they found themselves in.

Trunks' eyes flickered, half while he considered her question, half while he ducked under one of Mira's kicks and swung a blade for the back of his knee. The attack was dodged, he dipped away from the counterattack and held out his hand for an up-close ki blast that the android blocked by raising both of his knees.

"Yes." Trunks nodded. "It won't affect time. It's not tainted like Supervillain energy. Do it." He thrust his sword between Mira's raised legs, and found it clutched between the Android's knees. His red eyes narrowed and pure white energy formed around him. Golden sparks had just started to form where Yarro gripped him, when the energy shattered into a hundred narrow spears aimed straight for the Android...and the Saiyan on his back.

Yarro clutched Mira until the last second, managing to drain nothing more than a drop of the vast well of power in Mira's body, but it gave her enough strength to blink away just as the spears embedded themselves in the aura surrounding the android. Both aura and spears dissipated, just in time for Trunks to put his fingers together and unleash a blast that sent Mira hurtling back into a nearby asteroid. It crumbled as he collided with it, sending chunks across the void while he held his hands up to the charging Trunks.

A gout of purple and black ki poured forth with enough power for Yarro to feel it ripple across her skin, as she jumped from asteroid to asteroid. Trunks burst through the other side, surrounded by a golden aura that coalesced around his blade. Mira raised his arms to block the slash, which came just a few feet away from the Android. But, in its wake, there was a wave of ki that broke the Android's defense in time for Trunks to close the last of the distance, his fist meeting a blue cheek, then the other, before jabbing straight into the X on his chest.

Mira was once more sent flying backwards and this time, Yarro was ready, as she extended her finger and unleashed an explosion behind the android. His momentum was halted by a blast that scorched his back, and Trunks rushed in for another punch...only to meet a barrier of swirling purple blades that sent the half-Saiyan flying into the air.

Yarro thought she had an opportunity to strike, but was quickly educated by a flick of Mira's finger that sent a ball of emerald energy straight for her. She just managed to raise her arms while she watched him unleash a pillar of energy at the reeling Trunks. The sphere batted at her arms over and over again, breaking her guard just before it ran out of energy and forcing her back across the atmosphere, as a scorched Trunks found himself on the receiving end of a pair of fist on his spine.

With nothing to stop him, Trunks hurtled across space, Mira hot on his tail, with Yarro still recovering from the attack. She concentrated for a moment, a multiform forming out of her back. It grabbed her with all four arms, then spun around, building up energy before hurling her towards the two opponents. She recalled the ki as she soared, getting closer and closer in time to see Mira surround himself with a thick purple mien and a kick headed for Trunks' falling form.

Yarro formed an imperfect golden ring in her hand, narrowed her eyes, and tossed it ahead of Mira. His kick went on, but the golden band slipped onto his ankle just in time. It tightened and he suddenly felt himself anchored to the air. His momentum carried him further and further towards Trunks, but every meter meant another inch of momentum stolen, resulting in the Android hovering just a few inches away from the recovering Trunks.

Mira pointed his finger at Trunks, sending out an array of beams that shattered the bond on his ankle, but found themselves subsumed by Trunks' outstretched palm and the golden beam that collided with Mira's chest. The Android was forced back, glowering at Trunks while the latter caught his breath and raised his sword.

Yarro surreptitiously flew a short distance away and grabbed the tip of an asteroid that was many sizes larger than her. With the grip of her four hands, and the arrogance of Mira, she knew just how to turn the fight to her advantage. She watched Trunks lunge for Mira, only to find air and Mira behind him with an outstretched hand surrounded by black and purple. Just as Trunks turned around, a yellow beam shot out into the half-Saiyan's eyes and forced him down.

When Mira leaped, Yarro struck, pouring her ki into her speed to appear before him and hurl the asteroid at his head. The Android grunted as the asteroid slammed into his head, shattering into many pieces with the collision and floating away. He was left standing, readying himself to continue his attack, when a series of yellow bands surrounded the debris and sent them slamming back into his reinforced form.

Mira tossed the meteors away from him, one by one, and focused his gaze on the Saiyan between him and Trunks. He rushed forward, grabbing her by the throat and crushing it in his mighty grip. Waves batted at him in the void, the multiform in his grip crumbled into nothing, and his vision was suddenly distorted. He could just make out the form of Trunks before the transparent sphere collided with his chest.

Mira remained where he stood, his lips curling into a grimace until the concussive force finished sending tremors through his body, and glanced between the fatigued Saiyan and the bruised Trunks before him. With one hand, he sent a wave of ki at the woman. With his other, he released four purple spheres that forced Trunks to fly beneath him. The Android flew down, his kick landing in the space beside Trunks' ear before the half-Saiyan lunged up and slammed the hilt of his sword into Mira's jaw.

Yarro dived over the wave of ki, flexing her limbs and refocusing herself in order to recover from the sacrifice of her multiform. She watched as Trunks slammed his fist into Mira's gut, only to get a knee to his in return. Trunks slashed at Mira's throat, cutting away some of the blue flesh there, only to have his sword-arm gripped and be tossed to the side. Mira outstretched his right arm, directing the purple orbs after Trunks.

The explosion came nowhere near Trunks, as a huge shockwave tore through the void. Yarro just barely sensed another presence as Isala appeared beside Mira and latched onto his outstretched arm, tearing it back while it was locked in place. The Android glowered, only for his eyes to be smacked by her tail while he struggled to stop his arm from being torn off. Another barrier rose around him, forcing Isala off of his arm. She quickly righted herself, glaring at the Android as she raised her finger.

Mira dodged between the precise bolts of blue, only for Trunks to dart behind him with a slash of his sword. The Android stumbled forwards and Isala closed the distance, coiling up into a cannonball and grabbing his wrist, then slamming both of her feet into the crook of his elbow at full-force. He cried out as his arm bent unnaturally far, but grabbed her throat and tossed her to the side all the same. Trunks was upon him once more, a sphere of golden energy blasting Mira's face and sending him twirling backwards.

Yarro hurled a spinning disc at Mira, which he hopped above and found a beam piercing straight through his elbow as he did. Trunks lunged at him, stabbing a shallow hole in the Android's torso before being punted off with the bottom of both boots. Mira spun around and appeared behind Yarro, attempting to slash at her with a blade made of ki. She flipped above it, landing on his shoulders and tightening her grip on his throat.

Then she contorted herself, forcing Mira off balance and sending him straight into the path of a lightning-fast series of sword strikes from Trunks. Scratches formed all over his mostly-pristine armor and the Android grunted as another volley of spears emerged around him. They flew off in all directions, creating enough space for the Android to breathe, if only for a moment. He span in place, sending weak blasts all over the area. Trunks and Isala closed the distance, easily weaving between the blasts, until Mira suddenly shot off.

"Yarro, stay here." Trunks said, as Isala immediately flew after Mira. "Go back to the Time Nest. We'll take it from here." He said, then flew in chase as Yarro nodded.

"Whew. That was a close one." The Supreme Kai said in Yarro's ear. "It's a good thing Isala managed to beat up Towa in time to come back. Too bad she escaped, but...I guess they're pretty good at doing that now. You did really well out there, Yarro. Just give me a moment to pull you back and..."

Yarro didn't hear the rest of the Supreme Kai's words.


	12. Chapter 12: Exchanges of Power

Yarro was no longer floating. She was standing quite still in a room quite blank; white walls all around her, a white ceiling above and a white floor below. The gravity was hard to place, but it felt just right, just like the temperature. She scraped the toe of her boot on the ground, and it slid without sound or friction. She tried to sense any ki, but she couldn't feel anything other than her own. She breathed in deep, hoping to find some scent, and still there was nothing.

Then a purple vortex formed in the wall she was facing and out of it strode a woman in a long red bodysuit. Her graceful strides were complimented by the swaying of the black flaring ornamentation on her hip, and the surprising stillness of her partially-exposed breasts. It was marred only by the fact that her cheek was bruised, her left hip scorched, and how her right arm seemed to hang loosely in its socket. She looked down at Yarro with eyes that matched the wormhole she'd emerged from.

"Hello, little Saiyan." Towa smirked, as she went to lift her staff and found her arm trembling. "One moment. Your friend," She said the word with enough venom to kill a dragon. "Was particularly persistent today." She said, as she tossed her staff to her other hand and tapped it on the white floor, which was slowly starting to shift into a padded material. Her aura briefly flared to life, and her wounds were healed before Yarro's eyes. She flexed her right hand and nodded, tossing her staff back to it.

Towa looked to Yarro, who simply stared back as the white walls expanded wider and wider. "You're not attacking." The demon noted. "That's refreshing, but I wonder why..." Her eyes flicked to the side, as the walls finally set and shifted into great padded squares, with small circular generators between their corners. "A Saiyan training room from Universe 6? I was beginning to think that you were smart enough not to attack me, but apparently you're just simple-minded."

Yarro frowned as her attempts at figuring out the situation came up with nothing. She was much less powerful than Towa, even if she could sense the woman's lingering injuries. But they seemed completely healed, from how she gestured. She wasn't sure whether there was anything beyond this room, but she'd be remiss not to try. In a moment.

"What does my mind have to do with this?" Yarro asked, levelly.

"That's where we are." Towa said, as she started to stride across the room, the padding squeaking under her heels as she did. "You've been enough of a thorn in our side for me to take notice, and pluck you out before you become as big a problem as that other little girl. I have to say, I expected it to be difficult – brainwashing always is. But you have such a neat, ordered little mind. This is going to be easy." She laughed, then tapped her staff on the ground.

Yarro suddenly found herself standing in another room, filled with paths of all variety, from cobbled stone to flight hanger walkways to homely halls. The sky above was an indistinct white void.

"There you are." Towa said, as she appeared beside Yarro and pointed down at the paths. A single figure walked down each and every one of them. They were less a figure and more a Time Patroller battlesuit that somehow walked on its own, as though it were filled. "The same woman, the same clothes, the same walk, the same time, day after day, no matter where you end up." She chuckled. "And all it would take is a slight modification to turn that to our favor."

Yarro's flat mouth twitched slightly as she watched a single path change to purple rock, cast in faint shadows. She felt the faintest of changes, deep in her mind, and forced herself to focus on a way out. A way to win.

"I'm not going to follow you." Yarro said firmly, even as more and more of the paths changed to those found in the Demon Realm. The wicked presence was crawling inside her skull.

"You will." Towa said with cool confidence. Even the armor on the figures changed, as the battlesuits turned to deep red, the armor's gilding to black, and the Time Patrol logo shifted away. In its place formed the broken infinity of the Time Breakers. "It's just another uniform. Just another path to walk. What do you care whose cause you follow? That's never what it's been about for you. It's all about fitting in, isn't it?"

"You know nothing." Yarro glared at the demon.

"I know everything." Towa said. "I'm in your head. But I'll humor you – why don't we check your schedule?" She asked, as Yarro's left arm suddenly shot up and opened up her personal device, her schedule along with it. "Let's see. Morning ritual, breakfast, training, rest period and lunch, time patrol, debriefing, studying, rest period, dinner, training, rest period, and sleep. Let's make one little change." She said.

Yarro's own fingers touched the screen, changing the word "patrol" to "breaking". She tore her arm back, taking back that small measure of control over her own body and panting with the effort.

"Don't you dare." Yarro warned, the chill in her voice tempered by the slightest of trembles. "My body is not yours to control."

"I'd apologize, but using bodies is hardly something you've been opposed to before." Towa twirled her staff around her fingers and, once more, their surroundings changed to something much like a bedroom, but far too wide to comfortably serve as one. There were beds lined up along the walls, in each of them rested a naked woman. They were all writhing, with moans faint in the distance. They all had some distinguishing feature, whether it was blue hair, long legs, or long nails, but were otherwise identical.

"What do we have here?" Towa mused aloud, as she strolled along the ends of the beds and pointed to their bottoms, on which name plaques sat. " A series of bodies and names, stored in your mind in case you need a warm body to sate you for the night. Are there any notes about their personality?" She pointed the tip of her staff around the beds, as though searching. "None. Their duties? Nothing. Any warmth at all? No, they're stored in one great room, interchangeable, temporary, disposable." She hooked the toe of her heels under one bed and flipped it up, where it disappeared in mid-air.

Yarro felt the little flicker in her memory and swallowed hard. Her chest was tightening with each passing moment, her mind filling with how much she resented this woman rather than how to escape. "This is not your business. I care. I care."

"You needn't get so angry – it was just an observation." Towa said. "You'll be able to sate whatever desires you need in the demon realm – and at least there, the women will know what you're going in for. You won't have to pretend that you're there for anything other than what you're for. Won't that be nice, to not have to pretend?"

"Be quiet." Yarro's nostrils flared, as every one of Towa's words added another crack to her wall of restraint. It was all she could do to remind herself that Towa was in control, that she didn't have to be, that she'd be able to find a way out and break this grasp on her mind.

"You're getting so close now. I can already feel your heart in my hands." Towa smiled, as her free hand clasped an imaginary something and crushed it. "Let's go a little deeper, shall we? Perhaps we'll find the root of what makes you such a good little soldier." She said, as she tapped her staff. They were standing on the crystal fields, where Yarro had fought Zombo, flashing between memories of mostly-faceless Saiyans dying. "No, too late. Perhaps you'd like to kill the Time Breaker who gave that buffoon that device? He did kill your...well, not friends, you don't have any of those."

Yarro's muscles were taut like a tightrope as the scene shifted again, as they were standing at Yarro's graduation ceremony, the completion of her initiation into the Heroes of Justice. "No, too late. Boring." The demon tapped again, and they were standing in a room with a younger Yarro, her face clear as faceless Saiyans chastised her. "Mmm...I can taste the despair here. Just a clever little girl, trying to be clever. I sympathize."

"Go to Hell." Yarro glowered.

Towa laughed darkly. "What for? Trying to cure you? You'll be much happier at my side, you stupid little thing. Finally, you'll have somebody who understands exactly what it is that makes you tick. And isn't that what you've been wanting all this time? In fact, I'm sure of it." She tapped her staff again, and they were somewhere else.

They were standing in a space much more vivid than the least, where the magma pouring from the sky created real hat. Where the ground beneath their feet felt like it could crumble at any moment. Where the smoke might have scorched their lungs if they breathed in too hard. Yarro trembled as her memories tumbled out of her mind, but she didn't need to think of them, because they were happening right before her eyes.

There was another Saiyan girl, clad in the same initiate uniform as Yarro and the rest. She was darting off between the pillars of magma. They were trying to call her back. Towa watched with clinical curiosity while Yarro watched in horror, as a pillar of magma suddenly shot from the sky and surrounded the girl in the searing substance. And the ground crumbled beneath her, pulling her, melting her flesh from her bones.

"Let's see that again." Towa said, as the scene reset to just a second before. The girl was consumed. "Again." It happened again. Sweat dripped down Yarro's temple. "One more time." She lifted her staff, and Yarro's hand latched out to grab it before it could hit the ground.

"No!" Yarro snarled, as her muscles suddenly rose beneath her skin. "You do not control me!" Her veins pumped blood harder than they ever had before. "You have no right to see this!" Golden energy pooled around her feet and rose up her like crashing waves. "You have no right to my past!" It rose up to her eyes, turning her pitch black stare to a sharp teal. "To my mind!" It washed over her hair, snapping the golden barrette that held it in place until her hair danced above her head like a golden flame. "It! Is! Mine!"

A maelstrom of gold emerged from Yarro, knocking aside Towa, knocking aside the confines of her mind, and, for a fraction of a second, there was nothing. Then, she was floating back in space. The power that had just rushed through her was still there, sending tremors through the void as she span to face the demon who'd just attempted to seize her mind. She was injured, just like she had been when Yarro first saw her in her mind.

Yarro swung her golden fist at Towa's face, earning a loud cry from the demon as her tender bruise was smashed in place. She was unprepared for the blows that followed, a punch to the jaw, an elbow to the temple, a hand wrapped tightly around her slender throat.

"Fine. We will find another way." Towa croaked at the Super Saiyan whose grip was only tightening. One second, she was there, and the next she was not. Yarro tried to sense her lingering ki, but then the demon appeared where Yarro had just been strangling her. Without another word, she disappeared entirely.

Yarro grabbed the remnants of her barrette and formed a golden disc in its place, forcing her flaming hair back into place.


	13. Chapter 13: Patroller's New Clothes

Yarro was sitting in her room. Her uniform had long since been discarded, and she'd spent the last few hours doing nothing but studying. She'd had a brief conversation with the Supreme Kai of time, but it had to be that, because she still needed to oversee Isala and Trunks' pursuit of Mira. So, she'd returned home, showered, and had a long think to herself. About the things that Towa had forced her to face, about the things she'd put herself through. She knew she'd be thinking about them for a long time.

But what she thought about now was the new form she'd achieved, and the new permissions granted on her account. Reading up on Super Saiyans was quite the revelation, even compared to the new techniques she'd learned about before, and she intended to learn every last detail about it. It was a good thing, then, that she happened to be training under two people she knew had mastered the Super Saiyan form. She knew this, because they were listed under Known Users in the Time Patroller database.

She was interrupted mid-reading about grades when there was a buzzing at the door. She slipped off of her seat and dusted down the white gi she'd materialized for herself, as well as the blue vest, then walked to the door. The little camera beside was showing Isala and Trunks, neither of them the worse for wear, though with the freshness of body and clothes that told her they'd taken a dip in some healing tanks.

"Hello." Yarro said, smiling as she opened the door to the pair. "Please come in. Can I get you anything?" She stepped aside so the partners could enter.

"Oh, yeah. Some water would be nice." Trunks smiled back at Yarro as he looked around the room. "You know, you're allowed to decorate this place. You won't get in trouble, I promise."

"I might do that." Yarro agreed. "I'm considering placing some picture frames, and creating situations where a picture would be appropriate."

"Let me know if you want to hang out somewhere and I'll come with you." Isala offered, as she splayed out on the nearest chair. "Is that a new outfit? I don't think I've seen you out of uniform before. Oh, and I'll take some pocky if you've got it."

"It is; I thought that wearing my uniform all the time could be intimidating to other Time Patrollers. So, I've decided to add some variety to my wardrobe." Yarro explained, as she glanced at the food ordering device. "What is pocky?"

"It's this Earthling food, it's like a crunchy stick covered in chocolate." Yarro explained with a smile. "They're one of my favorite things. Dessert and food and stuff is basically Earth's best export, y'know?" She said. "Oh, and my good buddy Trunks."

"I'm not sure how to feel about coming after the food." Trunks said, as he sat down in a chair beside Isala.

"Fortunate, because that means I'm not going to eat you." Isala said.

"Are you joking this time?" Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Because I've seen you eat people."

"Excuse me?" Yarro asked, as a fresh box of pocky shot out of the delivery shoot, she scooped up a glass of water, and joined the pair with their respective refreshments. "You've eaten somebody?"

"Nah. Not whole people. Parts, sometimes." Isala gratefully took the box of pocky and poured its contents into her hand. "Only if I'm really angry, or it provides a tactical advantage." She pooled them in her hand, to form one giant cylinder of pocky, and took a bite out of the collective stick.

"I see." Yarro said. "Should we ever fight, please spare my right finger."

Isala was about to reply with her mouthful, when Trunks held a hand over her mouth. She finished chewing, bit it, then tilted her head at the other girl. "What's so special about that one?"

"I find most women favor it." Yarro answered, straight-faced as she watched the stunned blink of Trunks and the wry head shake of Isala. She graced them with a smile.

"I thought you were being filthy for a moment there." Isala said. "It's a good thing you were just joking about being a right pervert." She took another gaping bite of her mega-pocky.

Trunks laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I've gotta say...you're probably in the best shape after going Super Saiyan than I've seen anyone. I was...well, a mess. Isala was...upset. How did it happen for you?"

"I realized that I didn't care for the restrictions that Towa was trying to set on me." Yarro explained. "And that allowed me to realize I didn't necessarily to restrain myself according to the community I'm in, and certainly not beyond what's expected. I was overwhelmed, at first, but soon came to control myself. I didn't destroy anything when I returned, at least."

Trunks and Isala nodded. "We can help you out if you need it." Isala offered. "We've gone through it, we know how it works, and I kind of want to see what you'll look like in blonde. I think it might suit you."

"I was wondering how it suited you." Yarro replied. "Perhaps you'd be willing to demonstrate?" She asked.

"That...might not be the best idea." Trunks said. "Remember the fight with Mira? We were fighting them in our base forms as part of the secret-keeping rule for Saiyans. Just going Super Saiyan is going to be a lot more intense."

"I'm certain I can handle it." Yarro replied.

"It's not about what you can handle." Isala said, having finished the last of her snack. "SKoT installed a bunch of sensors around the place, so she knows if somebody starts fighting and might destroy her stuff. Power-up too much, there's an alarm, a bunch of droids roll in and spray you with water...it sucks."

"It sucks?" Yarro raised an eyebrow. "How would you know?"

"Let me tell this one." Trunks smirked. "It started when..."


End file.
